Day FOUR. The day it all begins.

Day FOUR. The day it all begins. Went to the tube and there were train delays. I thought that I was going to be late for sure. But somehow managed to get to the school 30 minutes early. Got my fingerprint taken, as the only way to enter the school is by fingerprint, not badge or face. So techy secure. eventually they called us up to a room where we were given a bag with all of our uniforms and gear. When I saw my hat size as small I thought the rest of this bag is sure off. Sure enough later in the day ingot to exchange my pants one size up (the originals fit fine, but a bit tight in certain places. Ahem. The outfits are made for men so having hips = going up two sizes in coat to make me feel more comfortable. There are only two sizes in hat small or large...it still doesn't fit even with the Velcro completely loosed in the back. Back to orientation...we got our things...signed off that we got them. Then the school principal talked to us on all sorts of things that she deals with (learning disabilities, boyfriend drama, moving campuses for boyfriend drama, and a whole lot more. I'm too tired now to remember it all. Then the scheduling lady came and told us how to read the outrageous calendar. It is organized by day, time, class, and room. All lectures/classes start at 800, 1130, 300, or 630. I have 4 classes this month at 800am, 7 at 1130, 8 at 300 and 6 at 630. All on random days, but this is only an example. I am sure it is very intense. Speaking of intense. This is an intense course for 6 months. Meaning that what normally takes 9 months, we are doing it in 6. There were four groups that started today, one in cuisine & three pastry classes. There are 16 in my class and only one guy. John from Hong Kong. It rhymed so it was easy for me to remember. The others are from all over the place. India, Vermont, California, Japan, England, Bulgaria, Norway...yeh all over the place. Back to orientation. The tech lady came in and made it sound super easy to sign into the email program (I finally got in after downloading the app to my phone. She never mentioned that in her speal. She also made it sound so easy to get wifi. Nope. More on that later. After that we got a tour of the place. Shown where to go for the fire drill (British museum anyone?), the cafe [aka cafeteria that costs $10 for a salad...to eat in ...grrr. I need trader joes butternut squash salad please for 3.99 thank you] and all of the classrooms. For cuisine prep is on the outside counters and cooking done in the center. For patisserie prep is in the middle (on marble) and ovens are on the outeredge. We also have stove tops. Mom said mentioned that I would probably be cooking on gas ranges....we'll the wave of the future is induction cooktops (look them up) so induction is all there is here. Next up: tried on uniforms, waited in long hot halls to exchange before eating lunch. I ate with Bulgaria, Norway, and England. We were a multicultural table. It was nice to get to know some people better. I tried to get help with the wifi, but didn't have enough time for some techy to come help me. We got dressed in our uniforms and went to class. First class: super exciting. Health & safety, fire safety, hazardous equipment. Not exciting at all. Learned the proper way to pick up a box, move the box, protective equipment, substances, preventing burns/fires/falls/cuts/injury. You know the super fun stuff. Looks like tomorrow is more of it....including the metric system of which I did not study up on before getting here, so I may take a look at it tonight to prepare. After that we were done for the day. Changed back into our street clothes and were off for the night. I decided to give the wifi hookup one more chance....after 45 minutes of trying the lady at the front desk told me tech had gone home for the night, so I was going home for the night too. The sounds, smells,buildings, and action of people here is quite amazing. There is always the hint of cigarette smoke in the air. Usually a siren of some sort bellowing in the distance, the grinding of gears changing on the double decker buses, the clack of heels on the sidewalks, the smells of foods coming out from their shops, and a hustle of an ever moving crowd. Came home put on my pjs, ate some dinner, and this is where you find me. Writing all you magical people. Goodnight and tell next time ttfn.