A Lonely Morning

It is a chilly Wednesday morning when I walked in to my field site at 8:45. I arrived very early today because the instructor to my 8:30 class did not show up, and I figured it would be better if I did my observations then instead of waiting for later. I was pretty relieved that he didn't show up, but at the same time I was annoyed because woke up early for nothing. It is pretty early in the morning and there are not many people out, either they are still sleeping or at their classes. As I am walking to my cite, a thought came to my mind that probably not many people were going to be there since it was early, but I decided to go anyway because I might see some variation today instead of the norm.

It was a little bit cloudy as I walked up the path to my field cite, the sun was hidden in the clouds. The first thing that I noticed when I walked up to the site was that usually people were sitting down at the tables outside, but right now there was no one there. The tables were lonely, and that felt very weird and out of place; I noticed that the occupied tables always gave the place a sense of welcome, joyous activity and a positive aura, and now that feeling was gone, but it still gave off a warm and relaxed aura. Seeing the empty tables, I got the impression that not many people were going to be inside either. I knew it was because of how early it was, and I was expecting for that to happen.

Having no one to observe outside I proceeded to entering the place. When I opened the door an unfamiliar, but expected and welcomed quietness surrounded the place as the customary smell greeted me. I bought a coffee and enjoyed the warmth as it spread to my body. I could hear the clattering in the kitchen as the people prepared the food. I picked a table that was near to the door so that I could see better the people that came inside.

So far, only two other people apart from me where at the place. Both of them were enjoying a hot coffee and a burrito. The girl had a book out and she was reading, while the man that was seated 3 tables from her, had his earphones on listening to music. I decided to take out a textbook to read, and take advantage of the quietness to get something done. It is not every day that I come hear that this peacefulness surrounds the place. Three other people came and ordered coffee, but they did not stay.

As I was gathering my things at 9:15 to leave, people started coming in, and the silence and peaceful spell was gone. People started crowding in and came in packs. The laughter and voices that always filled the air came back. The people looked fresh and excited as a new day started, and unfortunately it time for me to leave. Hearing the laughter and all the noise gave me a rush of energy as I was also about to start my day filled with activity.