Ethnography

Ethnography

November 9, 2014

A Typical Thursday in the Modern Jungle

Week 10 Observations
I decided to come to the modern jungle exactly a week after taking the last observations to see if the booths and advertisements are still here. However, as I walk towards the hallway from the feeding hole, I notice there is not as many people here as last week and can’t find a single booth from last week. Even though, there is not as much activity as last week, there are still many people shopping, socializing, and eating. It is around three o’clock this Thursday, and the sun is heaping through the windows and skylights from above on the ceiling and warming up the atmosphere around us.
I pick out a figure walking towards me as I stand in the center of the walkway, directly in front of the feeding hole. As she comes closer, I recognize her as the Lioness creature who watches over the entire jungle and whom I’ve seen several times before transporting objects and carrying messages across the mall. She is dressed in her official and professional suite and carrying a few manila folders stacked full of papers. She walks right past me and acknowledges me with a warm smile. I see her turn towards the feeding hole and stop at each restaurant, dropping off different folders at each station and greeting the employees kindly. When she is finished, she swiftly walks back in the direction she came. Based on the past few times I have seen here at the jungle, she has not been very animated in her emotions but she seems to get her job done efficiently.
            I decide to sit at a table in the feeding hole and observe those in this area for a while because the walkways are becoming barer every few minutes. While sitting here, I pull out my notebook and pencil to jot down more notes and look busy. I notice an older couple sitting across from me. The woman is wear a small diamond ring on her finger and the man is wear a band on his. They are holding hands on top of the table and have a quite conversation with each other. The woman is smiling as the man talks and they both laugh. They both seem very relaxed and in tune with each other. Based on past observations, I have come across several older couples who present themselves in a way similar to this- quietly, modestly, and gently.
In addition, I have also come across several older people alone in the jungle, shopping, eating, or walking by themselves. To prove my previous point, just as I thought it, the older woman I met the first week of observations who wears a fanny pack and appears to come to the mall just to exercise and socialize with strangers, walks past the feeding hole. She is happy and has a bright aura around her like always as she jots down the walkway. About 15 minutes later, I notice her walk past the feeding hole in the opposite direction and I didn’t see her again.

As I begin to pack up my notebook into my bag, the few others sitting around me appear to be doing the same thing; throwing away their food, and picking up their bags from different stores. They walk back towards the walkway, while I head towards the exit in the opposite direction. Walking out, I come across a group of teenagers about to enter the mall. Seeing as it is already four o’clock, they should be out of school by now and it explains why more and more teenagers seem to be pulling up in the parking lot. 

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