The Pond Wk. 2

Week 2

This week’s experience differed greatly from the drunken mayhem from last week, and this new time spent at the pond was much more helpful in understanding people. One reason for this was there were more people. There were more families, and wholesome groups. Early morning on a weekend day the pond at NMSU was full of individuals and families enjoying the sunshine of the morning.

The first group that I took notice of was a father and his two small children fishing. The man was very attentive to the kids, and walked back and forth between them to help with casting, and baiting, and what not. The father did seemed more attentive to the son, rather than the daughter. The boy was older and could benefit more from the lesson of fishing, and the father would stop and explain more thoroughly how to cast and bring the fish back in. This isn’t to say that the father was not attentive to the girl, who was several years younger. He just spent a significant more time with the boy. I wonder if it is because the man could relate more to the boy, or maybe the boy just had more interest in the task set before him, or maybe the age was the main factor as the older boy could more easily grasp and understand the task, and he also possessed the adequate motor skills. Whatever the reason, the family seemed to be enjoying themselves.

The second group that I observed consisted of several joggers. They had stopped at the pond to regroup and catch their breath. They all stood around, sipped water, and stretching. The individual that seemed to do most the talking and bantering was a large man, who had come in first ahead of the group. They were all athletically fit individuals, but this man was clearly the fittest and strongest. In a sense he seemed the leader of the group. The girls in the group mostly stayed to themselves while they stretched and giggled, while the large man told jokes and was the loudest in the gaggle of joggers. After several minutes the group was on its way, each taking his or her place in line behind the fittest man.

The next group that I noticed was a large Hispanic family. There were probably twenty or so people in this rather large group. They were all there for a family picnic. While the children ran around and played the women set the food out. There weren’t as many men as there were women, and I wonder if that is because it is the women that planned and organized this outing more for themselves than for their spouses or children. The women did seem to be enjoying themselves the most, as the set the table, and brought the food out. The women laughed and talked in a mix of Spanish and English. After the food was eaten and the mostly cleared away the group stayed and chatted for the remaining time I was there. It was a wholesome environment with family, and food, and a promise of a good time.  

The crowd during this time of day was extremely different then the college students that were probably out the night before. While observing at this time of day I noticed the dynamics of families, and friends. The father and his attentiveness to his son, while the daughter fished with less attention, showed maybe a more powerful connection between the males in the family. The joggers showed that most groups have a leader. The large jogger was definitely the most confident in the group, and that was easily noticeable.  And finally the large Hispanic family that gathered for an outing in the sun, surrounded by kin, was mostly dominated by the women, who seemed to enjoy the picnic more than the children even. All in all this time of day seemed more interesting and informative, and now I wonder if the same time of day, but during the week days would bring forth even a different crowd.