Tuesday 29 September 2009

Oh my, today...today was something. For the first time in my college career, my alarm clock decided not to go off. The day I have class at 7 with a brand new chef, my first day of skills. I wake up at 6:57.

Never have I ever gotten dressed so fast or muttered so many profanities as this morning. I arrived at class at 7:04 out of breath and mortified. I hate being late and the morning did not start off right.

Luckily we were given 2 breaks and 1 more lunch break. The first break gave me plenty of time to run back to my room to finish dressing and to grab my forgotten necessities, the second gave me plenty of time to catch up on breakfast, and by lunch I was certain that I was no longer behind. I might not have started skills off with the best bang but through my impression, it will not be a very demanding class.

I finished meat with a C, not my most prized grade but it is the best example of why not to miss even one day of class, it automatically drops your final grade down a letter grade, and am eagerly awaiting my fish grade, feeling pretty proud of my final. Monday, although a day off due to our regular 3 day weekends, I still went to the fish class for extra practice and enjoyed every minute of it.

Before I applied for the CIA my chefs kept emphasizing waiting until December to dodge my age group, freshly out of high school. I, foolishly, did not take their advice and now am witnessing why such a thing was suggested. Your class is your group, your team. I have never liked nor understood team work until starting a kitchen class with my class mates. In the kitchen it is impossible to have the "every man for himself attitude", the entire kitchen acts and breathes together. When one person fends for himself or lacks in many specific areas, the entire team hurts. While I've been witnessing many groups struggling with experience and maturity levels, everyone struggling to work together. I am so grateful for my luck. My group flows like a well oiled clock- a saying I take back for not ever having to deal with a non-oiled clock. My group works like music, in my mind. In our low points we have people who pull ahead, like a solo that hides the fact that the chorus isn't hitting the right key. We learn from each other and all have the same motivation. I was heartbroken to find out we will be split up after skills 2.