I finally got a new assignment in the kitchen today! I was assigned to dish washing duty (lava louca). There are 2 of us and true to the name, we wash the dishes! They do have an industrial dish washer, so it is not so difficult, and there are only about 130-160 place settings at breakfast/lunch. It was sort of fun actually. But since Ana and I were so fast, we finished about an hour early both in the morning and afternoon. That meant that in the morning we assisted with preparing the shrimp for tomorrow's lunch. The shrimp here are about 6" long on average. So mostly it was just ripping off the heads, removing the shell and de-veining them. Not fun exactly, but I managed.
Here's a picture of Ana.
She and her husband are here for the current Bible School for Single Brothers that is going on at the branch. Sadly, the school is ending next month and Ana and her husband will most likely be going back out to the circuit work where they previously were. I've found there are many transient friends here. There was another sister I worked with in the kitchen who was a special pioneer with her husband. He was here for some medical treatment or care and they just got sent back out over the weekend with like a day's notice. We didn't even get to say goodbye!
Finishing the dishes also meant that in the afternoon we helped prepare the fish for Wednesday's dinner. Ugh. They call them carapa, which I think is like carp? They're about 12-14" long. They come in huge frozen packs. But its not like frozen fish in America. They are still very fresh. So we have to defrost the fish, then, you know, clean them. Like cut off the fins and tails and cut open the head and remove the, um, insides. Gross. To me anyway. I guess if you're a real cook or you're from a different country cleaning and preparing fish is no big deal. But it was to me. I literally had to psych myself out for a few minutes before digging in and cleaning out the head. Basically I fully cleaned and prepared about 3 fish. In the same amount of time Ana prepared about 20. But hey, at least I did it! I wish I had taken pictures, but then again, that would be not so pleasing to look at.
I did, however, take pictures last week when I thought I was doing another pretty gross task. But, I still hold that the fish were most gross thus far. Last week they made sal picao. Which I thought was sort of funny since that's a typically Brazilian dish, but they have a pretty international menu here :) Anyway, if you know what sal picao is, you know that involves shredded chicken. For those of you who aren't familiar with it, the way it's made here is shredded chicken mixed with carrots, lettuce, french fries and mayonnaise. So they boil whole roaster chickens and then we have to take them apart and shred the meat by hand. That was fun. Not. For your viewing pleasure...
Yum. But on a tastier note, that day we had lula for lunch. That is calamari. Sooooo delicious. They make this tomato salsa to serve with it. Definitely my favorite lunch so far.
Here is our overseer Mafere frying the calamari.
That day, I actually ate in the kitchen for lunch. They let the kitchen staff stay in the kitchen and eat during lunch if they don't feel like going back and changing to eat in the dining room. It's a fun bonding experience I think. We all sit in the back on stools and carts and eat.
That's one thing that is pretty cool about being at this branch. Back in Brooklyn, the rule about no jeans or casual attire in the dining rooms was pretty non-negotiable as far as I knew. But here, they allow the kitchen staff and even housekeepers or anyone else who doesn't dress up for work, to come for dinner to glean without changing. That's pretty convenient!
That's all for now. Hope you all are having a great time back home! Love ya.
Here's a picture of Ana.
She and her husband are here for the current Bible School for Single Brothers that is going on at the branch. Sadly, the school is ending next month and Ana and her husband will most likely be going back out to the circuit work where they previously were. I've found there are many transient friends here. There was another sister I worked with in the kitchen who was a special pioneer with her husband. He was here for some medical treatment or care and they just got sent back out over the weekend with like a day's notice. We didn't even get to say goodbye!
Finishing the dishes also meant that in the afternoon we helped prepare the fish for Wednesday's dinner. Ugh. They call them carapa, which I think is like carp? They're about 12-14" long. They come in huge frozen packs. But its not like frozen fish in America. They are still very fresh. So we have to defrost the fish, then, you know, clean them. Like cut off the fins and tails and cut open the head and remove the, um, insides. Gross. To me anyway. I guess if you're a real cook or you're from a different country cleaning and preparing fish is no big deal. But it was to me. I literally had to psych myself out for a few minutes before digging in and cleaning out the head. Basically I fully cleaned and prepared about 3 fish. In the same amount of time Ana prepared about 20. But hey, at least I did it! I wish I had taken pictures, but then again, that would be not so pleasing to look at.
I did, however, take pictures last week when I thought I was doing another pretty gross task. But, I still hold that the fish were most gross thus far. Last week they made sal picao. Which I thought was sort of funny since that's a typically Brazilian dish, but they have a pretty international menu here :) Anyway, if you know what sal picao is, you know that involves shredded chicken. For those of you who aren't familiar with it, the way it's made here is shredded chicken mixed with carrots, lettuce, french fries and mayonnaise. So they boil whole roaster chickens and then we have to take them apart and shred the meat by hand. That was fun. Not. For your viewing pleasure...
Yum. But on a tastier note, that day we had lula for lunch. That is calamari. Sooooo delicious. They make this tomato salsa to serve with it. Definitely my favorite lunch so far.
Here is our overseer Mafere frying the calamari.
That day, I actually ate in the kitchen for lunch. They let the kitchen staff stay in the kitchen and eat during lunch if they don't feel like going back and changing to eat in the dining room. It's a fun bonding experience I think. We all sit in the back on stools and carts and eat.
That's one thing that is pretty cool about being at this branch. Back in Brooklyn, the rule about no jeans or casual attire in the dining rooms was pretty non-negotiable as far as I knew. But here, they allow the kitchen staff and even housekeepers or anyone else who doesn't dress up for work, to come for dinner to glean without changing. That's pretty convenient!
That's all for now. Hope you all are having a great time back home! Love ya.
5 comments:
Good for you, sweetie! Doing the dirtiest and the grossest!! Someone has to do it, right? You are amazing. Love you
Aaaaannd.....now that you know how to do it, you can try it when you get home, on some nice fresh fish! Proud of you both!
Mum
That is so awesome! What fun! (sans the fish guts) I don't know if I would "finish" my work so quickly next time :) hahaha! Have fun with it! And thanks for all the great pics!
Keep up the good work!! Sounds like an interesting experience :0
This post really speaks to me, as I have actually experienced many of these things, just in a group of worldly people, so definitely way less awesome. As for tearing up chicken meat and cutting the guts out of fish, now that you've done it, it will be much easier the next time! And the kitchen staff family meal experience that you described makes me nostalgic for past years! Jehovah's organization presents us with experiences that we would never have otherwise! Continue to enjoy them!
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