Day 37: Braiden

I started my first rotation at Braiden.  Braiden is hosting "Preview" which means that they are the designated dining hall for orientation students and their parents/guardians.  Ironically, I was working with Marsha prepping the desserts for lunch.  The pies, cakes, cinnamon straws and many other goodies were similar to the items that I had a hand in making or watched my co-workers make previously.  It was pretty cool to now be a part of and see the end product for the dining halls.

Shortly after, I met with Nick, one of the managers at Braiden, to discuss my goals and plans for the week.  Nick advised that I would be out in the dining hall directing students and their parents and providing information about Braiden.   Although I have already had a few tours of Braiden, I couldn't help but feel slightly intimidated.  I walked out into the dining hall to familiarize myself with the menu items and stations so that I would have no concerns - or at least minimize them.  Shortly after Nick, Jason (from Ram's Horn) and I, headed out into the dining hall.  Of course, it was pretty slow at the beginning of the lunch period so Nick filled me in with information that would be useful to the customers.

It wasn't as bad as I expected.  I was able to communicate the information effectively and it wasn’t such a big deal.  Nick had asked me whether I had ever made sushi before, which I had, but I didn't think it was a big deal.  I soon found out that the sushi crew was down a few persons and they needed to make about 100 sushi rolls.  My first one wasn't that bad, but it took me about 10 minutes  (or felt that way) just to get the rice down.  It was about 4:00pm when Lucy had announced that we had 10 to complete in 15 minutes.  I laughed to myself because I knew when she first began showing me how to roll sushi, it was a struggle.  I didn't think I could do it, but by 4:13pm I had completed 10 rolls of sushi!  I am now a self-proclaimed pro!  Lucy was such a great trainer!  She was very critical but patient even though she was on the clock to complete her assignment.

When I finally stepped out of Braiden, I thought I was going to melt.  The heat had hit me hard - it was a whopping 97 degrees!  Despite the heat, I enjoyed the rest of my evening playing volleyball.