The Same Old Bread and Rolls to Sell
The little town, in which I live, is a quiet village. Each day is very much like another. The provincial town maintains that quaint feeling with the salutations exchanged from those passing on the street. It has now been two months since the morning that I arrived…
Life at the bakery has slowed down a bit. There was a lack of need for more bodies during the week and diminishing returns of new information about the baking process; I am now assisting only on Saturdays from 2:30 AM to 6:30 AM. The positive side of this is that I can focus much more on my side projects – namely prepping this blog and making progress on the fermentation app. Unfortunately, my supply of fresh bread is now more intermittent.
With a month of learning what it means to be a baker, I have started scoping out new opportunities to work with other fermentation experts. I was recently introduced to a friend of a friend, who works as a butcher. And, as luck would have it, this butcher actively works with a local cheesemaker. I am still in early negotiations with him, but it looks like he may be kicking off a new project in mid-April, which is perfect timing. I am still not sure if these opportunities are simply falling into place, or I am relying on the anxiety from the visa process for comparison.
In the past couple weeks, I have been able to experiment more with fermenting – pickled dill carrots and a porter. The porter was bottled two weekends ago, so that should be ready to drink this coming weekend. The carrots should also be ready for tasting soon. I am honestly more interested to see how the fermented veggies turn out as this was the first time I have attempted something like that.
This past Sunday was Germany’s start of “Summer Time”, which is the equivalent to Daylight Savings Time. Additionally on Sunday, I participated in my very first dance recital. I have performed in many musical productions, and I have even been in a dance show that was fully produced and had multiple weekends of shows (i.e., with paid ticket sales); but performing a routine put together during a weekly dance class for an open-house audience, this was new.
The dance studio in Erfurt has well over 60 classes catering to all ages and many dance styles. The focus seems to be hip hop and break dancing, but they also have lyrical, ballet, belly dancing, and what I would call risqué dance (think fishnets, chairs, and much hair flipping). The studio divides all these classes into five groups which then make up the five one-hour shows held this weekend. The adult tap class I take was assigned in the final hour show. We performed after some teen break dancers and little kids skipping in a circle wearing their favorite Disney outfits. Yes, the audience was made up of these kids’ parents. And, yes, it was awkward. An interesting note is that each group was expected to have a uniform look; the advanced tap class landed on white button down, black pants, vest, and black hat. I brought none of these things to Germany. Other than my shoes and undergarments, I borrowed five articles of clothing (including black belt) from five different people. Very tight pants… baggy shirt.
One final piece of exciting news: the tap instructor asked if I had any interest in participating in a new, more advanced tap piece – a number to include him and another guy. I am quite excited to see what opportunities may lie ahead, and what doors this may open.
