Beginning the Internship

Monday was my first day in the Kitchen. Ferdinando was the chef and Valentino was assisting, we had a group of 19 people from an aeronautical engineering university in Florida; needless to say, most of them were boys. I couldn't have anticipated a warmer welcome into the kitchen, and it was a wonderful start to my so far wonderful internship. Ferdinando and Valentino were both grateful to have me there and were very courteous and accommodating but also playful and ridiculous. Ferdinando is probably in his early 40's, speaks hardly and English, is passionate and blunt as most Italians, but even more so because he is from Naples, so he is a little crazy. Valentino claims to be 30 but looks closer to 23, is young, and Italian, need I say more? but don't worry, he figured out really quickly that I'm an innocent Mormon girl and he calls me 'little lamb'. I didn't understand everything the two of them were saying, which was probably for the best, because I might have been scarred by some of it.

At one point I was helping Valentino with the dishes and got my hand stuck between two large pots, and at long last I got to use the phrase I've been dying to use ever since I got here: ''aiutami!'' they both came rushing to my aid, saved me from the pots and then mocked me kindly for just a moment, but it was all ok because it really was a silly situation. I think they were more entertained by the tone of my voice when I said 'aiutami' than anything else because they kept repeating it in affected, high-pitched, desperate voices--I'm sure I didn't sound that ridiculous, but who knows.

The group of students were also all very friendly and attentive, and because only the 3 girls in the group had any confidence in their cooking abilities, I got to assist a lot. It was nice to have some good 'ol American to listen to and converse in, sometimes I miss it while I wander the city, but I can definitely tell my Italian skills are improving and I'm able to move around the kitchen with confidence. It also helps that Valentino, Ferdinando, and the entire class had absolute confidence in my abilities to both cook, and to varying degrees, to speak.