Cup O' Tea?

Sunday, September 7, 2014

4:47 pm Walk in while 13 people inhabit seats and tables scattered around the café.

6 people and one infant (so seven people) occupy the seats at the tables outside.

No line at the register. Quiet.

4:48 sit down in an unoccupied pod of comfy chairs with two small coffee tables in front of each pair. This is a good spot if I was trying to get away from the slow, dull mumbling of the other people in the shop. This spot is more secluded.

4:51 stand up, gather my things to move a more pen area of sitting. A tall able in the center with a tall bar stool.

4:52. I am now situated.

4:55 crowd of 9 people happen to enter the now busy, once quiet, café.  Two girls in matching pink t-shirts and similar hair do (I assume from a sorority) order ice tea. Make friendly conversation with the barista and pay with credit cards.

4:58 Girl 1 with pink shirt walks over to wait for her ice tea and as she gets closer I see on the back of her pink shirt, in swirly letters, Sorority recruitment. And a green palm tree on the top.

5:03 the dull murmuring of voices has now converted into a louder friendly chatter.

5:04 two girls in front of me at a table next to a wall talk about amino acids, proteins and cells. Papers, notes, an open book, highlighters and pens cover the four person table. Two empty café cups sit next to each one of the studying girls. They've been here for a while, but are still engaged in a focused study session. I assume they are classmates.

5:06 *text break* (even though my phone is on do not disturb, it still disturbs me)

5:08 text break finished. Sorority girl 1 and 2 are gone and in place two other girls wait for their coffee or drink of choice, book bags slung over shoulders. As they receive their drinks they look around at all of of the unoccupied chairs, which happen to be too close to the other café inhabitants and the two girls exit the door to sit outside.

5:12 clouds cover the sky and sun. No harsh sun beats down on any of the people outside. I am surprised more people do not choose to sit outside.

5:13 just as I think this two young men probably early 20s exit the door behind me and sit at the farthest table for two outside. Both are dressed casually and both have ordered some type of raspberry or fruity tea. Conversation looks effortless but polite. These two don’t look like they have been friends for too long.

5:22 At a similar tall table next to me two girls talk freely about themselves and their backgrounds. They seem to be introducing themselves to each other for the first time. Neither of them have bought anything from the café and neither of them have books or study material.

5:24 Not wanting to infringe on their privacy I put in one of my head phones but with the other ear I can hear conversation from the close people around me.

5:27 the café has not returned to the quiet and peaceful state it was at 40 minutes ago. Steadily people keep coming in the door to order a beverage or a muffin.

5:29 Gender count- FEMALE: 19

        MALE: 14

5:30 this surprises me because without counting I thought there were a significant amount more of females than males. But the count came close. Maybe because most of them sit alone engulfed in their work, music and laptops.

5:32 Done with my ethnography report for the day so I get pumpkin bread to reward myself.