Orientation. Day One.

So today was the first day of Orientation. It started very early, with a 6:45 AM breakfast. Unfortunately this won't even be that "early" later on in my days here at the CIA. My roommate is in his fish classes now and he has to wake up at 4:30 AM. So, I guess I shouldn't complain about my 6:45 AM breakfast..

My breakfast today was fantastic. We could choose from a dew different options. I decided to get the Cured Salmon Omelet with Capers. I also got some potatoes and a bowl of assorted diced fruit. Other options were an array of things. 

-Scramble Egg Special: Scrambled eggs with scallions and olives. 

-Pancakes. 

-Scones.

-Smoothies.

-Assorted breads, bagels and such.

You name it, we have it. 

*I apologize I didn't take a picture of my breakfast*

I could get used to breakfasts, and well all meals, like this.

In case you were wondering.. Our dining hall, Farquharson Hall, looks like this:

No joke. This is out dining hall. 

And then after this lovely breakfast, we had real things to do. We did a survey and finalized all of our financial aid, medical things and things like that. You know normal college stuff. I got my parking pass, which I may add is free. 

Parking pass!

And finally it was time for my ID! Yes, my Culinary Institute of America Student ID. Here it is:

It is slowly getting more and more real! After I got my ID, we had an hour or so free time before lunch at 12. And what did I do in this hour or so? I did what any college kid would do. Went back to my room and took a nap haha and had some Chair Tea from my Keurig:)

After my glorious hour nap, I got up and went to lunch. For lunch we had the options again.. I don't really remmeber the options but, they were all good options. I decided to go with a Turkey Sandwich with Swiss Cheese and Roasted Tomatoes and a Spicy Mayo Sauce. Oh and a little Salad with some Apples and a Vinaigrette and Walnuts. Ready to see what it looked like?

Then after lunch. It was a meeting with the President of the CIA, Tim Ryan. 

This was located in one of our lecture halls. This is what it looked like:

We learned about the history of the school and the alumnus from our school. Just to name a few, that you would know, Cat Cora from Iron Chef America. Duff Goldman from Ace of Cakes. Michael Symon from Iron Chef America and The Chew. The list could go on. Oh how about Steve Ells. You don't know him, you say? He is the founder of Chipotle. I don't mean to brag, I am just so in awe of some of these alumnus. But we just learned about the history of the CIA. And how it was founded in 1946 by Frances Roth and Katharine Angell, two woman, in New Haven, Connecticut. Just a little background information. But after our meeting we were to go change out of our business casual attire and into our Orientation T-Shirts and go to the Rec. Center. This is where we did Team Building. Which was like any typical Team Building exercises, you have done. And then it was time to receive our chef whites and uniforms. SO EXCITING. My temporary chef jacket is glorious! I can't wait for my real ones to come in. (They come in next week.) ANd they will have the CIA logo embroidered on them and my name and my major. What came in our bag 'o stuff was:

1 Temporary Chef Jacket (I will have 5 personalized jackets later.)

5 Black and White Checkered Chef Pants.

2 Black Pants for Serving.

3 CIA embroidered Dress Shirts also for Serving. 

1 Navy Tie, again for Serving.

*3 Aprons.

*4 Towels. 

* - Unsure on exact amount....

After all of that.. It was time for dinner. The lines were killer long and some places closed. So I had to go to a small place in the Rec. Center. Yes we have a small restaurant in our Rec. Center! Doesn't everyone? ;)

But I had a personalized Salad with Grape Tomatoes, Cucumbers and Cheese with a Balsamic Vinaigrette. These were the machines to place your order:

And my salad was this:

And for my drink I got a V8 Splash.

And then I joined my first club. It is called SPICE. And before you make a joke about how it must be a culinary club since it's called "spice," it stands for Student Programming Igniting Campus Entertainment. They meet every Thursday at 9:15 PM. And then I went back to my room and showered. Now, here I am, blogging. But I need to get to bed, another early morning breakfast! 

My journey is still continuing.. And I'm loving every second of it.