Ethnography

Ethnography

October 5, 2015

That's my seat!

As I walk into the caravan, I realize that my usual table is taken! Of course my first few minutes were dedicated to inspecting this individual thoroughly.
I have never seen him before, he is wearing a baseball cap inside with blue jeans, a red t-shirt and cowboy boots. His face is twisted in concentration over a textbook.. After staring at him for a few minutes, I also realize that he is squinting to see the page. I wonder why he would live that way when he can get contacts or glasses, but maybe he forgot them? I decided to name him Peter.
I look over at another table to see three girls huddled around laughing and whispering together. One girl has long black hair and is wearing tight blue jeans and a blouse. I can see that she is wearing a very bright red lipstick and blue eyeshadow. The other two girls have blonde hair, and while one is wearing a yellow dress and sandals, the other is in some type of uniform. After trying to figure out what they were talking about, I shift my gaze back to Peter who has not seemed to move.
Next I move to the seat across from where I was sitting to see the other side of the Caravan. At one long table I see an older woman and man sitting on the very end. She looks very upset as she eats her sandwich, while the man looks around the Caravan with a wide grin on his face. I tend to see this situation a lot in older people, one of them will be sweet and the other very bitter, but I always respect that they are still together. I wonder if the woman is in any pain, because she is wearing long compression socks and her hands shake violently as she eats.
I hear a door slam and turn around to see that Peter had left.
It's starting to get dark, and there are still two groups sitting outside.
I decide to go sit outside to see what I can find out. When I go outside everyone stares at me until I am seated and begin unpacking my things.
A couple is holding hands, the girl is laughing and smiling widely as the boy tells his story/joke. All I hear from the story are the words "BOOM! And he ran!!!!!" She busts out in wild giggles, and puts her hands to her mouth. I smile at their little interaction and immediately realize I am a creeper, so I look over to the other table.
Two middle eastern type men are sitting together drinking frozen novelty drinks and speaking about an engineering class. It seems they are designing some kind of a project and are brainstorming ideas for making it work.
As the couple gets up to leave, the three giggling girls from earlier walk out, making it four giggly girls in one small space.
I look back inside to see a mother with four children ordering at the counter. She tries to tell her children something but unless she is telling them to run around like crazy little things they don't seem to be listening to her. She sits them all down at a table and begins to play some kind of a hand game where everyone puts their hands in and as she speaks some of the children begin taking their hands out. They seem to enjoy it and it keeps them distracted until their order is ready. She opens the door and they all run out laughing and yelling to their car.
After 10 minutes it is too dark to read my notebook, I look back inside to see if anyone is still inside but it seems that me and the Middle a Eastern men are the only ones left. I pack up and say goodbye to the Caravan ✌️


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