Internship Journal Week Two

Week 2

Date: Wednesday 3^rd October                                                    Total Hours: 8

Week two was a short week. I was supposed to meet with the CEO, Tim Ridley, to begin a project that I would be helping with; however, on Monday I received a call to inform me that Tim would not have time to meet with me this week. On Wednesday, though, I worked in Liberty of Norton folgate. This shop was a way different feel than Speakeasy. Speakeasy is large, and busy most of the day. Liberty on the other hand, was long and skinny; its rush was in the morning and the rest of the day was relatively slow.

Once again, I started with dishes, and clearing tables during the rush. As the day went on, I spent more time waiting on tables and working the till. Liberty has menus at every table, and it is the staff’s job to take customers’ orders. I enjoyed this because I could interact with the patrons. Accents posed a problem with taking orders at times, but I did my best; most people were understanding once they found out I was new to London. When I was working the till, I had to learn about the U.K. coins quickly. In the states, we do not have as many coins, and the U.K. currency confused me at times. When I started making change, however, I was forced to understand the coins. I am now confident when using the currency. Towards the end of my day, they put me on the coffee machine again.

This time I was not pouring shots; instead, they taught me how to steam milk. I would like to state that steaming milk correctly is difficult! Depending on what drink is being made, the amount of froth (the amount you stretch the milk) changes. The first step was understanding how much froth each drink needs. Once I figured that out, the challenge became stretching the milk correctly. I think I got lucky at the start. On my second attempt, the head barista of the shop examined my milk, and she was shocked. She asked me if this was my first time steaming milk. It was my first time. She said that she had never seen anyone steam milk that well on their first time. She then proceeded to show all the rest of the staff. It felt good to be complimented on something I was hoping I would be good at, but it also added some pressure for the rest of the day. I wanted to make the rest of the milk to that level, but unfortunately, my luck ran out. I had some really good milk, but I also had some really bad milk, which we could not use in drinks. I am just hoping by the end of my time here, I will be able to steam milk well. As a little side note, I tried my first latte art this week. I attempted a heart, which is the easiest. Let’s just say it turned out as blob. I will get it sooner or later!

 I would also like to say that sandwiches in London are way fancier than in the states! When I was taking orders, I was very confused when someone ordered a sandwich. The names of the sandwiches are very fancy, and I did not know how to pronounce some of them. Not to mention, I did not know what some of the things on the sandwiches were. This was a cultural obstacle for me! After I figured out what the customer wanted, I had to go figure out which of the sandwiches it actually was. Luckily, I did not bring anyone the wrong sandwich, but it took me a long time. It definitely made me feel like a typical American. The goal now is to learn these sandwiches and their ingredients!