Week 3 - Penn State



My oh my…where to begin?! These past weeks have flown past so quickly it’s almost sad. Our days here have been so action-packed it’s sometimes hard to grasp everything when you’re running around having so much fun. On Monday we had a delicious lunch with Gail Hurley, who talked with us about the Auxiliary & Business Services here at Penn State, at the beautiful Nittany Lion Inn. We tasted the new chocolate milk protein drink and the protein bar (both of which tasted like yummy, rich chocolate candy in my opinion) in the sensory lab, then we toured the grand Pegula Ice Rink. Standing on the rink I felt bad for the opposing teams because their goalie is positioned directly under the (incredibly steep) rows of PSU students. 





Pegula Ice Rink



Tuesday we toured the Berkey Creamery and I just about had a fit (in a good way). Let me tell you why…. We saw how the raw milk is received from the local dairies, then homogenized and pasteurized, then mixed with other ingredients to form the “vanilla ice cream base”, then pumped into three-gallon drums before entering the “deep freeze” state. Our tour guide granted us the wish of every child on Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory…he let us dip our heads into the pool of icy deliciousness! No, just kidding, but close! He pulled a partially filled drum of ice cream off the line and said, “Have at it! Here are the spoons!” Can you even imagine anything as delicious as freshly made ice cream made from fresh local milk before it has been completely frozen? No, I’m sure you cannot. It was so good, but here’s where I have a fit….after we have our fill (but not really), he throws the rest away!! Perfectly delicious ice cream…wasted…so sad. I would've paid good money for that sweet concoction! Ok though…enough with that. The deep freeze cellar was extremely cold. So cold, in fact, that the floors are covered with a thin layer of ice at all times, and the person who works in there is only allowed to be in the cooler for 15 minutes at a time. Burr!! We saw how the bacterial content of the creamery products are tested at various ages (reminding me of my job back home in Chico State’s biology stockroom), and learned about the aging process of cheese. Note to self: Color has nothing to do with sharpness. Color is merely added in the form of annatto for aesthetic purposes. Interesting. After the creamery tour we met with the campus dining director and learned (very basically) what FoodPro is used for.





Berkey Creamery (the "one that got away"...it looked empty, but it wasn't...so sad)



Wednesday we had the day off, so we spent some quality time at Wegmans, the local supermarket of all supermarkets! From Twinkies to organic local gourmet olives, Wegman’s seems to have it all! We also checked out Plato’s, where clothes, shoes, bags, etc.  are purchased and sold by the bushel (not really). 

Wegmans is #1

We met Mike the Mailman! Great guy with a great office and great shoes!



Friday and Saturday were 5am shifts at Findlay for Special Olympics, which I enjoyed very much. Leah and I got to serve all day Friday, and Saturday we poured and flipped probably 1,276,903 pancakes total. Ok, maybe not quite that many, but it sure felt like it. I liked starting out not very quick or precise and refining it until I could fit just the right amount of batter onto just the griddle to have perfectly organized trays. Therefore, I can’t figure out which position I enjoyed the most working in Findlay. I love serving, but I also LOVE the hectic dishroom and prepping food and flipping pancakes. It’s tough when you love your job so much you can’t figure out which part of it you like the most. Don’t get me wrong, my feet were killing me by the end of the day, and all I wanted to do was take a shower and hit the sack! All in all, the guests were funny and SO appreciative, and I’d love to see how other dining halls prepare for and execute an event such as this one or Happy Volley. 

I'm showing Aimme's friend, Rainbow Puff, the picture I drew of her with my super strong pancake-flippin arm muscles! Check out them guns!





This coming week is sure to fly by even faster than the last, but we’re ready for all the opportunities and adventures we’re planning on having. Among everything else…Mt. Nittany here we come!