While the main focus of College of Three Ravens is the classes, I sadly was only able to attend one class the entire day, somewhat to do with a schedule misunderstanding and the rest because I was having too much fun right where I was.  The class I did attend was the cooking class Nez was gracious to teach us all day long in the kitchen that is, with the assistance of her wonderful mother as well.  This was a far cry from your traditional class setting, there were no handouts to read, and no set objectives for each person to learn; but this doesn’t mean there was nothing learned, or any lack of good hands on experience to keep you busy.  What can a person learn in a busy kitchen all day?  Well I’ll tell you:

1. Just how many fingers I can hurt or make sore before I’m forced to quit pealing oranges….. the answer is 4, if you count the thumb.
2. That it is possible to have a conversation about religion (and a few other racer topics) without offending the person, for me this one was a big lesson.  I had previously thought it was impossible, or imaginary like the square root of a negative one.  Of course this also means that there are people that think kind of like I do, which means the world is surly doomed.
3. Butter really can come in other forms besides stick or tub form, who would have guessed!  Some can be so artfully crafted you have trouble bringing yourself to be the first to ‘destroy’ the sculpture, yet totally worth it if you do.
4. A rare and elusive creature, the ‘bread’ turtle is only safe when it makes an appearance in large groups, on their own they are quickly over taken and consumed by wild and hungry, table dwelling scadians.  The horror, THE HORROR!!!
5. Some dishes are best served with the smile, placed directly on the plate, as well as accompanied with egg plant & boiled egg eyes and meat roll hairdos.  Each plate then must be presented to the cooks and must pass the “Oh that is sooo cute” inspection.
6. Any good meal will always require someone’s blood, a lot of people’s sweat over the stove, and a few tears because pealing and chopping onions makes a person “SOOO HAPPY!!…..sniff”
7. The wrappers of little chocolate candies being thrown through the air during the opening ceremony of court actually shimmers, and can be rather beautiful when observed from the kitchen breakfast window.  It’s the aurora borealis, only sweeter and sometimes with nuts!

My day’s hardships in the kitchen did not go without reward.  My lady and I where graciously invited to join their Excellencies at the high table, and even there I found myself learning a few new things as well, for example his Excellency is not a big fan of lamb, but sausage is a whole other story.  Also the invention of the light switch can sometimes confuse a scadian, but will ultimately end up presenting itself as an impressive mid meal light show.  Wrapping up an evening of friends, too much food, and sadly too little to drink there was just one more thing left to do; clean up everything.  This in no way put a hamper on my spiritual high of having a great day with wonderful people and good friends. 

--Phelan the Wayfarer