Tomorrow is TEST DAY!!

This is where the rubber meets the road.
The last three weeks of study culminate in tomorrow's test to see if we get to move on to the fun stuff in the kitchen.  A lot of subjects and a wide range of information, but I feel pretty good about how it's sunk into my grey matter so I look forward to testing my knowledge.  Some of my classmates aren't so optimistic, and are stressing more than I think is warranted.  My thinking is that "cramming" for a test is counterproductive and just clogs your brain.  Of course this is the attitude that left me at the tail end of my High School class, so let's hope that the many years of life experience and confidence-building successes have made me a better student.

Today I made a comment about how rude it was for our Korean student to text almost constantly during class and was told that she has a portable translation gizmo and it helps her understand the harder words.  I guess that makes me the insensitive, judgemental jackass.  Not the first time, unfortunately.
Not even the first time this week.  I need to be a nicer person.

The upper class treated us to a plate of one of their projects, a poached Ahi steak over baby greens and mango/pineapple salsa that was delicious.  So was the light cheesecake with berry drizzle that followed.
The guys in that class are all very cool and supportive of us, which has been helpful the last couple weeks.
Today they had a girl from the class ahead of theirs that came back to go through the remainder of her course with them after missing several weeks for family issues.  Good to know that there is some flexibility in case of problems. 

Assuming we pass our test, we are scheduled to finally be issued our chef's whites and knife set tomorrow, so I'm guessing we will see some band-aids on fingers come Monday morning, along with us in our spiffy new duds.  It seems that putting on the white shirt and hat is the most anticipated event of the year, so I will try to get some sort of picture up next week.

I sniff plants on my breaks.  Chef Otto has some very nice rosemary bushes growing around the building, as well as grape vines and papaya.  I find it soothing to pick a little rosemary that I savor while I'm getting fresh air during my break.  This week we've also watched several videos, and while I appreciate the good information (they were excellent), it seems to me that showing bootlegged VHS tapes from other cooking schools is bad form.  Call me picky.

Things I learned this week:

I guess we'll find out on the test tomorrow.   Souhaitez moi bonne chance, mes amis