Night out

As I walk into the restaurant I can feel the atmosphere immediately. The host was friendly and the door was held open by a stranger in a Hawaiian shirt. As I found my seat, I noticed how packed the building was. People waiting for a seat against walls and tables shoved together, all of the tables that were together contained families with at least one child. Once seated the red headed waitress, Julie, looked as if she had just been crying intensely just before greeting me. Julie seemed rude, I’m sure she was dealing with other problems in her life.

The table to my left had a family of three. A young couple with an infant daughter. The father had a Cowboy’s hat on and was flaunting a jersey for Tony Romo. He has an untamed bearded and a happy looking disposition. His wife or spouse, was sitting across from him with the daughter hung around her. She is a nice sounding girl, her voice is as much as can attempt to observe. She is sitting at the same seat but a table over so I can’t turn and stare. The couple is talking about their child and spending some time with their relatives.

The table in the corner is all men in suits, I could only glimpse as I sat down but they are directly behind me so I can hear them. Mostly one of them talks. I gather that they have been there for some time, they all mention that they've been waiting for their waitress. It is Julie. Beside the wait, the one man goes on and on about the work week and appreciating all the work the other men have done. They all got the same meal, enchiladas green without onions. Beer all around except for two men with waters.

The table directly in front of me has just seated two women. They appear to be friends. Middle aged with tired looks on their faces. They both order margaritas and chips. They immediately begin to laugh and chat about how stressed they are. After the initial stories have come out, fifteen minutes in to their night, they pull their phones out and begin scrolling endless pages of anti-social media. They only stop to gossip about this or that thing that they have seen on each other’s Facebook.

Julie brings them the wrong order, actually intended for the Cowboys couple. The couple had been waiting quite some time. The phone women laugh it off but after Julie leaves they make a snooty face at one another.

The suits behind me are getting louder with more comedic stories about their boss. They all leave after all agreeing to go somewhere else. The Cowboy’s couple talk about how good the food is and how happy they are that their daughter has stayed asleep.

The phone ladies ask to see the manager because of the slow service. They may have been being a bit unreasonable but never the less, the manager comes with an apologetic story.

When the Cowboys couple leave they look very happy with the night and leave a formidable tip for Julie. They joke about her being “pobrecita”, this means poor thing in Spanish. Probably commenting on the large crowd and heavy workload for Julie. They seemed to be very nice and good people. The wife mentioned an appointment for the daughter as they were leaving and that’s the last I saw of the Cowboys couple.

The table behind me has been filled with what I believe to be college students. They only spoke Spanish, very well. I am not so fluent with the language but I could make out various phrases. It sounded like they were talking about a paper they had to write as a group for some class. I figured there was two guys and two girls, just by their voices.

The phone woman once again speak to the manager, but this time they are complaining about the food. It has not met their standards. The food was “cold” and “without flavor”. The manager attributes the temperature of the food to the slow service from Julie. The women receive a gift card to the restaurant and finish their meals, pay, and then leave.

The tip for Julie is almost nonexistent. From my perspective I could see how hard she was working and how much she was doing at once. She was unhappy with the tip but she moved on and continued to serve the rest of the crowd in her section.

The Spanish students behind me have ordered their food, from what I understood, they teased each other about the different items.

The night has slowed down, at least in my section. I’m starting to see a pattern in woman that go to restaurants as a pair. They appear to chat about their phones and more gossip conversation than other topics. But I don’t have much to work on for that yet.  

Coffee Shop

As I walk into the coffee shop I notice that the walls are full of different sayings, in different colors. While walking towards a table I notice a saying that my grandpa used to always say when I was little, “mas sabe el Diablo por viejo, que por Diablo.” Meaning that ‘wisdom comes with age,’ (or so I believe). As I’m looking over the menu I notice that the waitress is overwhelmed by the number of people in the room, after a few minutes she comes over introduces herself and asks what I’ll be having. With it being my first time in that coffee shop I asked her what she would recommend, I don’t think I will ever forget the way she expressed herself about the drinks and the food there. She said, “mira mija, tenemos una bebida para cada sentimiento, y una rebanada de pastel para cada pensamiento, solamente dime como te sientes y yo ago el resto.” (Look darling, we have a drink for every feeling and a slice of cake for every thought, just tell me how you’re feeling and I’ll do the rest.) As I laughed due to her response I said, “I’m feeling happy and a bit curious,” then she smiled and simply walked away.

While looking around the room trying to read all of the sayings, I notice an older couple sitting across the room, the lady was laughing with joy. As I watched them I couldn’t help but smile, they looked really happy. The waitress, Linda, comes over with a mango peach tea and a white chocolate raspberry slice of cake, she then says, “ellos son los Velasco, tienen 40 anos de casados y 20 de venir a esta cafeteria, tienen 7 hijos y aun siguen tan enamorados como el primer dia. A mi tambien me dan ternura, imaginate encontrar al amor de tu vida y estar casado con esa persona por tantos anos? Ya quisiera yo encontrar a mi principe.” (Those are the Velasco; they have been married for 40 years, have 20 years of coming to this coffee shop, and have 7 children. They’re still madly in love; imagine finding the love of your life and being married to that person for so many years? I wish I would find my prince.) As she walked away I stared at them, I couldn’t help but wonder what it’s like to find someone and be that happy with them.

While taking a sip of my tea I notice a guy sitting in the table across from me, he saw me staring and smiled, I smiled back. I noticed that he kept looking at his watch and then up at the clock that was hanging on the wall; he would pick up the menu stare at it for a few seconds and then put it down on the table. Linda goes over and asks how he’s doing, the guy, quickly responds, “oh no, I’m waiting for someone, I won’t be ordering anything yet.” Linda smiles and walks away. A few minutes pass by and his behavior is the same, stares at his watch, the clock, and then takes a quick look at the menu. I hear a loud laughter coming from across the room and I notice it’s the Velasco couple, as I smile and turn back to take a piece of my cake I notice that the guy sitting across from me is gone. I quickly look over the room, trying to search for him and nothing, he was gone. The fact that he kept anxiously staring at his watch and the clock made me wonder, had he been stood up? Or just afraid of meeting up with the person he was waiting for?

Let's go shopping!

Ranchero's Market of El Paso Texas

For this first week of field work, I chose to observe customers at the Ranchero's Market in El Paso, Texas. This is a Mexican cultured market located in the lower valley part of town.  The demographics of this market were quite interesting. There were mostly middle to elderly women shopping. Most of these women appeared to be from some type of Mexican/ Hispanic decent. Many of them had children with them. It appeared that most of them were shopping for either a feast or dinner due to the size of their purchases.

When I pulled up to the market, there were people in the parking lot selling all types of Mexican food: Tamales, Tacos, Enchiladas, Burritos, Flautas, Chimichangas and so much more. The prices of the food being sold were very reasonable between $1 and $6.  There was a man who was roasting Jalapenos on the side of the store. There was a small local band called the Los Amigos playing instruments outside. As soon as I entered the market I heard Mexican music such as: Ranchera, Mariachi, Bolero, Banda, Cumbia, Sones and classical traditional Mexican music.

There were all types of vendors within this market. I found that to be quite interesting due to the fact I am use to the “American” style stores. There were booths that sold clothing, electronics, Mexican candy and deserts, beverages like Horchata and Jamaica juice, and so much more. The atmosphere was very relaxing and intriguing due to the fact it was all so very new to me. I smelt scents I have never smelt before, I tried foods I never eaten before and heard things I never heard. The main language that was being spoken was Spanish. I have taken Spanish before but this was on a whole different level! These people were speaking so fast it was remarkable I couldn’t even begin to grasp it.

I continued to walk through the market and explore. Most people were dressed in modern day clothes except this one elderly woman I came across who was dressed in a traditional house dress and sandals. To some this might have seemed normal but to me it caught my eye. I felt like I was literally in another country! I really enjoyed observing and exploring. This experience has helped me to remain being open minded and accepting. I will always remember this opportunity and share it with others. I am looking forward to more discoveries such as this. It was truly a culture shock that occurred right in my own city of 20 years. What an excellent experience!

Taco Thursday

As my girlfriend and I walked into a familiar place on a warm and humid Thursday night, looking forward to our 50 cent taco feast, we were expecting the nice quiet atmosphere we have come to enjoy. But that is not what we encountered this particular Thursday night. This Thursday night was alive, noisy and had a celebratory atmosphere. At first, entering the restaurant I found myself feeling somewhat disappointed but that quickly changed as I realized that this was a good change in that it was a family atmosphere still with celebration alive in the air almost so thick you could smell it.

As we found our seats and the waiter came to get our drink and meal order, I observed that there were mariachis playing but not only were they just playing but a large family sitting at one of the tables found in the center of the room had joined in with the mariachis. Some of the family members were singing different songs which the mariachis seemed to enjoy, which they were, providing the instrumentation while one of the family members of this certain table belted out a Spanish love song.

Sitting there throughout my enjoyable 50 cent taco meal with my lovely girlfriend, I started to observe the other tables with other families. I began to wonder whether these families were enjoying the mariachis or whether they were annoyed by how this family seemed to have taken over the song list. What I observed was that some of these families did not even seem tainted or phased by the mariachis in the room much less the family that had joined in the song list. These families continued on with their meals and conversation, taking a bite of 50 cent taco madness, savoring each bite while drinking down a Mexican imported beer or a bottled coke imported from Mexico, with breaks of conversation or laughter within their family circle. Other families I found were very much enjoying and staying connected with the mariachis and family that had connected so well with the song list. I observed these families tapping their feet to the rhythm of the Spanish beat, with large smiles of enjoyment.

I walked out of this place with my girlfriend in arm and belly full of tacos and imported Mexican beer as well as my heart full of happiness, and recognition of the need of family and socializing with others in the spirit of celebration.

Sit, Stand, Kneel, and Listen

It is late in the morning and the sun is shining bright and the sky is clear. As I near the building, I hear the church bell rings. I hurry into the building and find a seat near the back. There is chatter among the people filling in almost all of the pews. Some are kneeling in prayer as the service nears the start.

Two children, looking to be young teenagers, start down the aisle heading toward the front of the sanctuary. One boy and one girl, they wear long white gowns that reach the floor with a brown rope tied around the waist. As they proceed down the aisle, they carry tall poles with crosses on the top of them. Once they reach the sanctuary, they priest greets them and they take a seat to the right of the stage.

Everyone stands and bows their heads in prayer, then join in song. The worship group plays a very upbeat song that everyone sings and claps along to called, “Asi Se Alaba A Dios”, or in translation, “So God is Praised”. Following, another prayer is said and everyone crosses themselves. The singing continues as everyone remains standing. Afterwards, another prayer is said and we are asked to be seated.

I noticed that the age group varies greatly. There are people from very age group, from infants to elders.  Also, within the first twenty minutes of my study, I found that there is a pattern of stand and sing, kneel and pray, and sit and listen. The pastor sits in a seat the represents something like a throne. He also, like the alter children, wore a long gown at about floor length, except for his was black with a gold rope wrapping around him at the waist. When singing the song “Aleluya”, or “Hallelujah”, the worship leader walks across the stage, back and forth, holding a bible up high in the air. Then he stands behind the podium for the rest of the song still with the bible in the air.

There are padded bars beneath me to kneel on, and we are asked to kneel and repeat after the pastor. This prayer is called “Prefesion de Fe” which is a confession prayer for everyone to come clean of their sins. Then, the pastor begins his sermon. His words are powerful and he really uses his voice to move the people.

A group of people come to the front of the sanctuary with woven baskets. It was time for offering. The music plays as the baskets are passed around from one pew to another. To my surprise, the offering basket didn't come around just once, and not even twice, but three time. During offering “Como Cusca la Cierra” is playing in the background as the pastor prays as well as the people.

The alter children then each pick up a candel stick and walk from the sanctuary to the end of the aisle, nearing the doors, then back up to the sanctuary.

Leading up to communion, the pastor reads inserts from the bible and the crowd says back to him with a written response that is projected up on the screen. It is as if they are having a scripted conversation. Then, the pastor holds the wine and bread in the air while a prayer is said. Everyone kneels and prays, then stands and sings. Although some are strangers, we all come together as one. We join and hands and raise them in the air. Following, we are asked to greet and bless our neighbors.

Once communion comes, everyone stands. The pastor stands at the front of the sanctuary and the people spill into the alter to receive their daily bread. I also went up for communion. As I reached the Pastor, he placed the bread on my tongue, held out the chalice to my mouth and I took a small sip. Another surprise, the communion consisted of the drinking of real wine. 

The Old Sun Shop

Fieldwork Week One: The Old Sun Shop

It’s around noon, partly cloudy and a bit humid since it just rained about an hour ago.  Over all its cooler than most days this week. A few Hispanic families come in and out of the shop within the first 30 minutes. Most are from El Paso and are just looking around before they go grab a bite to eat.

An older white woman (around 60) walks in with her husband right behind another Hispanic family that just came in as well. The Hispanic family is very loud and chat about their day plans and discuss where they would like to go eat. They are in the shop to just pass time and enjoy the day and not really shop as they only glance at the products and admire a few pieces of metal art, which includes some 3 foot suns.

The White woman sees only half the shop when she reaches the jewelry section in the back. She stands there for a while looking and examining different pieces of jewelry. She sees some fashion earrings near the bottom. They are silver (almost in a Zia shape) and have designs on them that really shout out New Mexico. They also have a small and dark coral bead at the bottom of them and are worth 16 dollars. She picks them up and doesn't seem to think twice about them as she takes them up to the register to pay for them.  After the purchase, the white woman walks very happily to her husband who seems a little bored standing by the door but gives her a warm smile and they leave holding hands.

Later on the shop is once again empty and an older woman, also white with salt and pepper hair comes in all wired up. She walks fast, talks fast and seems to be on a mission. She starts trying on some Native American ointments and gossips to the owner about another store who is also selling the same product. It turns out that salt and pepper is also an employee for another store. She and the owner converse about a variety of things. It seems as though all the stores on the block need to be a little competitive to make good business.

A middle aged Hispanic women from El Paso comes in with a huge brown hat that covers most of her face. She is followed in by an older woman with white hair who is the hat lady’s mother. She seems to only speak in Spanish. A young tall man comes in with them who is the hat Lady’s son. He speaks in fluent English. The hat lady walks up to the register and starts to ask if we sell a very specific cream. Her Spanish accent is very thick that it is very difficult to understand her. I tell her that I have never heard of it but show her the Native American ointments that could help with what she wants. She is very open and starts to share with me that she works very hard in her garden and in her house and has very bad conditioned hands. She shares lots of stories as she samples the ointments. She seems to like them but she feels they are too little and expensive for their size. Finally she decides that she did not come all the way from El Paso for nothing so she decides to take a few ointments for her and her mother. She takes a few brochures that give a little more information on the product and plans to show them to her neighbor. She leaves very happily, full of energy and content with her purchase.

In between 1:30 P.M. and 3:00 P.M. the shop was very slow, almost dead with the exception of one big crowd around 2:20 P.M. It seems as though tourist and visitors are off having a late lunch since the parking lots are full but the flow in the shop is very slow. However, for being a cloudy and bit stormy day it’s quite a moving Saturday.

When the flow of customers picks up again I realize that the majority of people make a remark about how good it smells in the shop as they walk in the door. I let them know it is our candle burning and most of them went to take a look at the candles for sale with the same scent. I also realize that a lot of people notice the ceramic happy pigs at the entrance of the store. They all exclaim how cute and adorable they are either when they first come in or as they leave the shop.

A group of five older women (around their 60’s) come in chatting and looking quite colorful. They all have hairstyles that seem to be from the 80’s or early 90’s. The 80’s girls take their time and look at almost everything in the shop. They look very relaxed enjoying each other’s company, laughing, and conversing about a verity of things. They all seem to take a longer time looking at jewelry more than anything else in the store. They converse about the jewelry but did not seem to converse about any other product (besides the occasional hey look at this) that I could hear. The 80’s girls left happily continuing their relaxing day.

Another group of people walk in. Two of them are married (around 40’s) and serve in the Military. The Husband collects Kokopellis and the couple decide to buy a light copper metal Kokopelli with blue beads worth 25 dollars. A friend of theirs whom is from Ireland asks to see some jewelry. I politely ask him to repeat that because his accent is very heavy and extremely difficult to understand. His friend then tells me what he said and tells me that most people have a hard time understanding him. Ireland guy looks at a Native American piece made of white thin rocks with turquoise beads in them. It has the Hawaiian look to it. He looks at it and sees how it would look on him. I am a little surprised since I see no sign of jewelry on him and he doesn't seem as though he was shopping for someone else. He puts the necklace back and the group leaves continuing their conversation.

Around 3:40 P.M. I can see through the window that it becomes quite windy, it feels cooler, and dark clouds come by looking as if it will rain. Yet people still remain looking and shopping around till closing time. I wonder if the cooler weather (even if a little stormy) causes people to be out more. I wonder if the heat here is too much for some tourist and even some locals.

Volleyball Game

The main event of Lobo Middle School on Saturday is the final day of the season’s first volleyball tournament. Today the eighth grade girls are playing for a chance at third place. Entering the air conditioned gym the dominate sound is that of volleyballs hitting the glossed wooden floor as the girls of both team practice.  There is no price of admissions which seems odd for during last basketball season in the winter of 2013 there was, I wonder if the school has adopted a new policy of not charging the family members and supporters of the athletes. Approaching the bleachers to take a seat I notice there is not a great deal of homemade posters to cheer on the girls, only two including mine to cheer on my athlete and a mother who we'll call Mrs. Spirit. Looking around the bleachers, the majority of the spectators appear to be adults of Hispanic ethnicity, there is a lack of supporters of middle school age cheering on their peers, I wonder if its due to the fact that it is nine in the morning on a Saturday or if it’s because it is one of the first games of the season.  There is not much discussion going on amongst the supporters and the little that I can hear is done so in small groups with the people either speaking Spanish or a mix of Spanish and English.

The game is beginning, against Lobo Team and Orange Uniform Team. Those girls not playing on the court  are not sitting together as team but rather in small clusters on two or three – have they yet to bond as a team or is this the socially practice of adolescent girls in keeping with cliques.  Mrs. Spirit and my party of my parents and myself appear to be cheering the loudest and most frequent whether it be to encourage the girl or applaud them on a good play. Of the other audience members though not as loud and frequent as Mrs. Poster and I, it appears that parents of the Lobo team are cheering more than Orange Uniform Team parents even though Orange won the first game.  As the games goes on I see Mangers from both team are on their phones. The Coaches of both teams are acting in different manners – Orange Team’s coach is middle aged woman who is scolding her girls on mistakes (she can be heard from where I sit across the court) while Lobo Team’s coach is a young adult and she appears to be correcting the girls (she is demonstrating proper bump technique, I can barely hear her from across the court), I’m curious if this is because she is closer to the player's age.

Team Lobo wins the second game. Game three, the deciding match, commences. Now both team’s spectators are reacting more vocally to the mistakes and points being made of each team.  Team Lobo wins, 15 to 8.  Orange Team shakes Team Lobo hand and then go off to what I assume is to discuss the game and find their parents on the bleachers. Team Lobo is jolly, presented with the trophy they are exclaiming loudly amongst themselves and all are smiling, all girls seem to be interacting with one another. They are taking pictures as team. The main method of taking photos are phones, with another parent and me using digital cameras.  I notice as I am around the girls waiting for my athlete to get her gym bag that the girls are forming little groups again and are speaking mainly English. My athlete with her stuff collected ask if she can go on the bus with the team rather than ride home with us. Maybe she wants to rejoice with the team.

Quiet in the Library

It's early in the morning, the cool breeze makes it feel like winter as I make my way into the building. As I walk in I noticed the library was busier today than any other day. I kept walking looking out for any empty seats. I finally came to a seat near a study group of students who speak spanish.

The students in the study group: Brenda, Emily, and John, were speaking out loud about what seemed to be English since they kept reading some type of article. After a few minutes of hearing the group talk about the homework, John turned around to the hearing of his name. The person who called him seems to be a family friend. I assume this because Nancy asked him about his family. I notice a student who is short in height sat across from me. She has beautiful black, long hair. I assume she is an athlete due to the clothes she is wearing. She is wearing a bright green shirt, with work-out leggings and Nike shoes. I see her pull out her lap top and big textbook. Vanessa was working on her math homework since I saw her get out a calculator as well.

I turn back to Brenda, Emily, and John because I begin to hear their conversation getting louder and louder.

Another study group of guys who have been at the library for a while get a little irritated and began making the 'shh' sound. John and his friend got quiet for a second but continue to speak in a loud tone.

Vanessa takes a little lunch break from working hard. She pulls out a burrito from her backpack. I can tell the burrito might have been home-made because of the wonderful, tasty smell. As I smell the food, I begin to feel my stomach growl. As soon as Vanessa finished her lunch, she quickly packed up and walked away to her following destination.

As I see Vanessa walking out the building, I see the students who got irritated of John's loud conversation with his friend, also packed up and left the building. I would leave the building if I couldn't concentrate on my work as well since I was taught you are supposed to use ur inside voice in the library. After the students left, John's friend quickly said goodbye and walked as fast as she could as if she was late to her class. John then continued to help out his study group with their homework.

Everyone in the library seemed to be working on their homework, peacefully without any interruptions. I began to put my pencil and note book into my backpack and walk out the building into the fresh breeze of a wonderful morning day. I walk up passing the library to my next class and continue the rest of my day.

The Church

I'm not really someone whom has much of an interest in religion. Though I am a Catholic, I didn't normally go to church on Sundays. But in this day, I decided that it would be fair to go to a different church to see what it was like in there. My curiosity was getting the best of me, so I decided to check out a Christian church.

Typically, Christian churches and Catholic churches don’t differ much. They are both quite similar, especially on their beliefs towards God, so I figured, “why not check it out?” So, the time I was there was at 1:30. According to the schedule, it was a Spanish mass. I understood Spanish, so I shouldn’t have a problem. As soon as I went inside to sit down, I noticed that the majority of the entire area were Mexican, just like myself.

I went to go take my seat, which was in the back. All around, I noticed that many people were having conversations, mostly in Spanish. Some were whispers and some were loud. But one conversation that got my attention the most was with a man and his son in Spanish. The son asked, “Dad, if I went to church every Sunday, will I go to heaven?” I couldn’t help but listen in considering that I have not gone to church in weeks. The man answered with, “No, my boy, you will not. If you have faith in God and keep in your life no matter what you do, you will make it to heaven.” It was incredible. My whole life, I believed that the way I lived made me worthy of going to heaven.

Afterwards, the pastor walked down the aisle to the podium. When he reached the podium, I saw that he has a smile on his face, as if God was shining down on him. He ordered everyone to stand. Everyone stood. He began to speak of how God is the savior and how much importance faith has. As he spoke, he spoke with such passion and strength. It had everyone to a point where they believed they could do anything. It sounded like he was motivating us to open up to the Lord.

After he finished speaking, musicians began to play. They looked like a mariachi band. They even had mariachi instruments. Everyone began to sing along with the band. The sound was so soothing and sweet, as if to relieve those filled with sins. After the band finished playing, everyone sat down.

The pastor spoke again, asking for everyone to open up their books to a certain page. One page was in English, the other in Spanish. The pastor read the Spanish page. I followed along in the English section. The text spoke of the story when Jesus visited a sick man. Jesus relieved the man of his illness using his divine power. After reading, the pastor asked for us to stand again. The band began playing again. That same tune played along, having everyone in the area sing along with the band. I felt as if God had forgiven me of my sins. Once again, we sat down after the harmonious song. We were to read another piece of text from the book. I could not remember what the text was about, but it was a letter to the Corinthians.

Soon after reading, the band played one more time, only to sing Hallelujah. Then, we resumed to read one more time. The story was about Jesus again, only this time, he spoke to his disciples about faith. I thought to myself, wow, faith must be very important. And then, we finished reading.

The pastor spoke for 20 minutes on how good God is. After he finished, a couple man stood up from the aisle to pick up money from people and put them in baskets. I thought to myself, hey, I used to do this! The baskets were passed along the aisles, with people throwing money into it. Some were coins, some were bills. Then, it reached me. I only had one dollar. But with everyone as my witness, I threw the dollar in.

After that, it was time to receive the Lamb of God. I hardly ever went, so I stayed seated while many stood to receive it. After that, it was over. I figured I should head on home, but as I walked towards the door, I heard a man talking to the pastor. The pastor told him that God goes to you to tell you about how you should live. The man totally agreed. And I believed it. I believed it.