The Bakery

Catherine and I are in what we like to call the orientation phase. We are exploring both work sites until the end of December before we decided where we want to be permanently. We set up a schedule that started yesterday. I will go to the bakery alone on Mondays and Wednesdays, and we will go together on Tuesdays. She will go to the girls home alone on Mondays and Wednesdays and we will go together on Thursdays. Then she goes to the bakery alone on Friday and I got to the girls home. So far we have learned a lot about what goes on in each bakery. In the bakery there are girls ages 16 to 21 who live adjacent to the bakery. It is all one big complex. There are also guys who some every morning to help to the baking. The head chef is named Willy and he recently won an award in Argentina in a baking competition. The gisl who live there have been placed there by Peru`s child services. They all go to school and most of them are in university. When they are not working in the bakery, they are studying or at school. They also have specific jobs around the complex. Girls are in charge of the inventory of all the ingrdients, going to the market every Saturday, the tool closet, cleaning, etc. The money that the bakery makes helps to pay for their education. All they keep asking for are English classes, so that will be one of the things we will do once we get settled. Also they would like classes in computers. They have their vacation from january to March, so during that time there is a lot of opputunity to do workshops, go on trips, and other activities. We will be involved in almost every aspect of the bakery form baking to selling to cleaning. We will also probably be spending free time with them as well. As much as I don`t really like to bake, I am fascinated by people who can. They make really delicious pies, sweet bread, regular bread, and other tasty treats and it is amazing just to watch. Hopefully they will have the patience to deal with my ineptness in the kitchen.