The Pond Wk 4

I have decided that weekend viewings of the pond should come to an end for now, and a different time of day during the week would be best to continue with the observations. So for the fourth week of fieldwork I hit the spot by the NMSU duck pond early afternoon on a Thursday. The sun was shining the ground was warm, and the people were out.

The first group that got my attention was a group of students. There were probably four or five sitting around with open textbooks. They were studying, and laughing, and seemingly enjoying the daytime. There were mostly girls and one boy. All the girl had dark hair, and looked Hispanic. The boy also appeared Hispanic. They seemed to talk in a mix of Spanish and English, but I can’t say for certain as they were a ways off. They all looked happy and content in the warmth of the Las Cruces sun. No obviously observations could readily be made from that one sitting. They all appeared to be friends, just finishing class, perhaps they had just eaten lunch. Perhaps they had the rest of the day to themselves and that is why they felt happy and carefree. More observation was needed before making any serious hypothesis.

The second notable observation that I witnessed was a family eating lunch out by the pond. There were two very young children, maybe two and four years old. The parents looked a little overwhelmed. The mother was wearing a blue cotton dress, while the husband was in slacks and a red t-shirt. The boy who was older was running around trying to chase the ducks. The mother was his chaperon, while the father focused on the baby girl who was busy munching on food and making a mess on her face and dress. I thought it was interesting that the parents took different roles in parenting the children. The mother was very intent on following the boy and making sure he didn't go too far out of the way. The father while didn't seem to mind that his little girl was covering her face with pudding and crackers, that also covered her dress. This is not to say that either of the parents were upset with the other with the different parenting skills. In fact they seemed like a dynamic duo. If one child was way out of hand the mother would step in, while the father kept a relaxed attitude and made sure everyone had fun.

The final observation I will make was not on a group of people, but rather on an individual that was sitting at a red picnic table. He was sitting there having a smoke and reading. This person looked so peaceful. Just a human taking a moment to relax and enjoy the daylight. The only observation that I clearly make it that as humans we can find as much happiness, being alone as we can with a large group of peers, or even family members. It reminded me from a page in the textbook, which talked about a culture that thought that people who spent time alone were either insane, or mentally retarded. The American students that visited this culture were never left alone, as the natives did not want to offend and lead others to think they were crazy. Coming from American society the students were shocked and desperate for some “me” time. Sometimes, especially in American society, it’s the little things in life that make us happiest.