Ethnography

Ethnography

September 7, 2015

Take one

I walk into The Caravan at 4:00PM
It's very crowded, and there's only one place to sit.
I quickly order the Tortoise Tea and take a seat to examine the people around me
A man with curly black hair is behind me, he seems to be doing paperwork, he's too old to be a student.
To my right and left are two pairs of girls talking and laughing. The girls to my right are talking about life decisions and drinking water, the girls to my left seem to be of Eastern Origin and are smiling widely and huddled together whispering over a phone. They get bagels with cream cheese and eat them quickly.
Behind them is another pair of girls, both blonde, both have bangs and glasses and are studying. They don't talk very much
A girl and man in the corner who were not sitting together or talking when I came in are now sitting together and talking. The girl looks very uncomfortable, he seems to be explaining something to her or talking about what she's doing. I wonder what his intentions are
Miss happy helper is cleaning and talking with her coworker, she always seems genuine
The eastern girls are now fiddling with things, one with a paper from her straw and the other with sunglasses, they continue to laugh.
The girls who had water are leaving now, and a man came in to replace them, he is stretching out his neck with a pained look on his face.. Don't break your neck please..
One of the girls now has a handful of foil she is fiddling with, the other girl is now fiddling with her cup. They began tossing the foil ball back and forth, both girls have tiny over the shoulder purses.
The girl who looked uncomfortable before is now smiling and relaxed, the mans shirt has ridden up and I can see more than I'd like to see
The man with the pained neck is drinking the same Tortoise Tea as me, I find that odd because he looks very manly with his little tea cup. Perhaps The Caravan is a place where you can feel relaxed to break norms
A worker leaves, shouting LATER! Walking out the front door with a cup, this is a very lax work environment.
An older man walks in, with cargo shorts, a button up shirt, sunglasses, and running shoes. He examines all of the merchandise before leaning over the counter to order something in a low voice. He has very skinny but veiny legs, they look a little fit, he's probably a runner.
After staring straight ahead with a scary serious expression until it was ready, a worker hands him a brown bag and he shuffles over to pick up a newspaper. He removes his sunglasses and holds them from the corner of his mouth and walks out.
A small girl comes in and glances nervously over the foods before settling on , she takes a seat near me then looks around nervously and chooses somewhere further away
A couple walks in , the woman has cutouts on her shirt I can see her bra.. I haven't seen that happen since high school.. Very odd. Now that I really look I think that might be her dad... He is much older than her. They laugh loudly as they read the papers posted on the wall.
They finally leave holding hands..
Two girls enter that I've seen before, they go to an organization I know of...
It's time to go now it's 5:02
The girl who had been nervous but is now relaxed and guy who had began talking to her and was in dire need of an undershirt got up to say goodbye, the guy went to throw away some cups and the girl walked very quickly out of The Caravan. When he turned around she was gone.
I get up and follow him out, time to go



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