A Dreary Afternoon in the Modern Jungle

Week 2 Observations

I came on a Thursday afternoon again around the same time as last week (1:30PM). The weather today is much gloomier and more humid, explaining why there are not as many people. However, there still seems to be a similar crowd of mostly older people. As I walk in from the feeding hole entrance this time, I immediately notice two older woman (60s) sitting across from each other, talking, and laughing as they share a corn dog meal from Vierniershniezel. I scan the area and see an empty table two down from theirs so I head that way to order my own meal and sit down and observe the area around me. The two ladies mentioned before start picking up their trash, crumbling foil into tight balls with their hands and then throwing their trash away as they walk towards the exit.

It seems that people of the age of 50 and up only come to the modern jungle to eat and socialize rather than actually shop. I now notice another couple of women of about the same age sitting a few tables in front of me. I can only see one’s face because the other has her back to me, but the lady facing me looks as if she is of Native American descent because of indicators such as dark colored skin, long dark hair which has gone gray in certain spots, and high cheekbones. The other woman has darker skin as well and bright red hair which is obviously died. While they seem to not care about what is happening around them and are in tune with their own conversation, I notice the same Lioness creature charging past me as I saw last week. She approaches Vierniershniezel with two extremely large water jugs and gives the worker one then makes her way to another feeding booth and gives them the other. She still seems exhausted and worn down as she did before, however this time she acknowledged me as she walked by and smiled.

An older couple, presumably in their 70s-80s, is sitting in the feeding hole across from a pizza express. The man is sitting across from the woman who I believe is most likely his wife from the way he holds her hands and looks into her eyes and smiles. He stares out across the hall and watches people walk bye, his head slowing turning and his eyes following bodies as they move past him. The woman lays her head into her hands on the table and doesn’t move. She has been sitting like this for at least 6 minutes now without moving while the man continues to observe people. They seem so fragile and worn down from the slow ways they move and the unstable movements they make.

I notice a drizzle of rain beginning outside from the wide set of doors at the end of the feeding hole which probably connects to the amount of people which is starting to die down. The feeding hole is becoming emptier and people walking by are getting fewer. It has been around an hour since I arrived and the weather seems to becoming even worse. As older people leave, teenagers begin to arrive in groups of 3 or more and are mostly laughing and socializing at tables surrounding me. They seem not to care about attracting attention as they are obnoxiously loud and abrupt.

From the interactions I have seen today, I am able to infer that these older people come to the modern jungle mainly to eat and socialize while teenagers come to shop and socialize. They are each very different in their actions. Older people are more confined and respectful in their actions and interactions, but teenagers are loud and chaotic.