Cooking Pizzas and an informal luncheon (Independent living series 27)

It was a busy day at my school; we all met in the technology lab for a class meeting. Our cooking teacher told us that members of the public would be taking a tour of the school and then having an informational luncheon. Pizza was on the menu. Our teacher divided us into two groups: those that would be helping prepare the pizzas and those that would be staying in the technology lab. I was asked to help cook.

Once we were in the kitchen my teacher went through the ingredients. He then organized how the 16 pizzas were going to be cooked in a timely manner.

It was time to start preparing the pizzas. The first pizza was made by our teacher. First, he added a little bit of olive oil to the crust, then he added about a teaspoon of pizza sauce, then he added a little bit of oregano and pepper. The final step was to add the cheese.

The students then got their own pizzas. I made a pepperoni pizza. The olive oil was slippery as I spread it on the crust. Then I added the sauce, oregano and pepper. I must admit I felt like I added too much oregano. Then came the cheese. Once I finished adding the cheese, I asked my teacher if my pizza looked okay; he felt that I missed a spot and I needed to add a little bit more cheese. I did. Once that was finished, I added the pepperoni. I felt like my pizza looked good. Once the rest of the students finished their first pizzas the teachers took our finished ones and put it to the side. Then we all started our second pizzas. This time we had a rhythm to getting the pizzas ready. It was more like an assembly line as we passed the ingredients around and helped one another as needed. We really do have a great group of people in our class. The last pizza I did I needed help pouring the sauce, so my teacher helped me. Preparing the rest of the pizzas was easy. Once the pizzas were finished the teachers were able to put them into the oven to cook. The students were then able to sit and chat quietly about the class party and other topics of interest.

Soon it was time to eat. During the luncheon, the public got to experience what it is like to eat while totally blind because they were wearing blind folds. One of the members of the public asked, “How do I pour my drink?” As I watched, I wanted to go up to him, introduce myself and show him how it was done. However, I let him figure it out on his own. While we were eating our director talked about the five programs and how they had an impact on the community.

I wanted to stand up towards the end and talk a little bit about what the program has meant to me. As a student, I can honestly say that these classes have helped me grow as a person. I can cook, use technology such as my Alexa, and ZoomText, and I can travel independently. With the help of the dedicated staff and teachers, I am no longer relying on my grandfather as much as I used too.

The director emphasized the fact that most of our funding that runs the school comes from donations from the public.

Once lunch was finished all of the staff and students cleaned up. I have to admit I enjoyed the pepperoni pizza better than the cheese pizza.

Then we went back to our lessons. I had Orientation and Mobility. Three of us worked on sighted guide and how to shoreline when we were doing routes. It was a great day.