UC Berkeley, Week #7 with Cal Catering!

Over the weekend, Maria (Renee's student assistant) invited Ashley and I to an exercise class called The Bar Method. It is a new type of workout, combining yoga, pilates, and ballet. It was made up of series of short, controlled movements, that engaged various muscles and repeated the action until my muscles were shaking. Some of the moves brought me back to my gymnastics days, such as the "hollow hold" and "V-ups". A lot of the work was done "on the bar" like a ballerina. Although it was very challenge, I enjoyed the class and thought it was a great variation to my normal workout routine.

We had another visitor from Connecticut stay with us the past few days. Her name is Alex. She and Ashley know each other from a community college back home. Alex recently graduated with her degree in english, and is an excellent writer. You can check out her blog here. Alex is on a cross-country road trip, from CT to Washington, Oregon, Cali and everywhere in between. She has an adventurous spirit and inspires me to think outside of what society tells me is acceptable, and really follow my heart. Her travels have given her many experiences that I have been able to hear bits and pieces of. Within the next month she will begin working with WWOOF: Worldwide Opportunities on Organic Farms. She is planning to work at 2 different farms in the next few months, one in San Juan at a yoga sanctuary and the other near San Diego called Valley Sanctuary.

Alex, Ashley and Kristen in San Fransisco

The work week, so far, has been spent in the Catering department of Cal Dining. We spent our time learning about catering operations, making deliveries, assembling food items, and attending meetings. We were able to spend one day with Doug, who showed us around Berkeley's campus and took us through some of the buildings on campus. Since we don't spend much time in most of these buildings, it was a great opportunity for us to get more of a student's perspective of UC Berkeley. My favorite building was the Life Sciences building, where we got to see an actual 3D skeleton of a Tyrannosaurus Rex. It was huge! We also got to spend time with two Cal Catering managers: Tete and Natalie. Tete explained to us about her role in the catering process, which includes processing orders, placing orders with vendors, and filling in wherever help is needed. The catering services are very busy in the summer time, and over 90% of their customers are located on campus. On Wednesday, we worked with Natalie in the catering office. We worked a catered dinner event for the football coaches and staff in the stadium too. It was exciting to be a part of the presentation, service and overall experience of putting on a catered event. 

Besides our busy schedule with Catering, we have finalized our event poster, printed them out in various sizes, and posted them all over campus! I am getting excited (and a little nervous) for our big dinner event. I know, though, that with the help of the wonderful Cal Dining staff, it will be a success, so I am really looking forward to it.