For my CIP this semester I\u2019ve been working at the Bazaar Caf\u00e9, a mere 5-minute walk from the Doshisha Campus. The cafe\u2019s main goal is internationalism and the food they serve changes depending on the day and who is cooking. I often go on Saturdays where the main dish is Thai. My job mainly consists of working in the back of the restaurant with the rest of the staff, preparing meals for customers as the orders come in, bringing customers their food when it\u2019s ready, making coffee and other beverages, and washing dishes. While not your typical CIP experience, working at the caf\u00e9 has taught me many things including what it\u2019s like to work in Japan, the importance of customer service, how to follow directions quickly and efficiently, and perhaps most importantly, understanding the \u201crhythm\u201d of the kitchen well enough to make it run smoothly. There was no more satisfying feeling than finishing a lunch service where every order has gone from the kitchen to the customer swiftly and without a hitch (although this is often rarely the case).<\/p>\n
Having worked in food service before, I started my CIP with the expectation that the experience would be similar to back at home. What I\u2019ve realized is that working in a kitchen in Japan can be seen as a microcosm of the country itself. It\u2019s amazing how from only working in a caf\u00e9 once a week for three months I\u2019ve learned most of the stock phrases of the formal language that anyone working a part-time job in Japan must use. I\u2019ve learned how to cook some traditional Japanese as well as Thai dishes (all of which we volunteers get for free. Definitely a perk!). I\u2019ve learned that especially when it comes to food, aesthetics as just as important as the taste itself.<\/p>\n
The people who work at Bazaar Caf\u00e9 have so much pride in what they\u2019re doing, and that feeling is contagious. Food and drink are truly cross-cultural. And by the end of a service, no matter what language we speak (English, Brazilian, Thai, Japanese) after all the stress and group work, mix ups in the kitchen and good food, we all seem to understand each other that much more for having gotten through it together.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
For my CIP this semester I\u2019ve been working at the Bazaar Caf\u00e9, a mere 5-minute walk from the Doshisha Campus. … \u7d9a\u304d\u3092\u8aad\u3080