For one of the assignments in my Anthropology-Sociology class, my professor asked the class to go visit a place on campus and make some ethnographic observations for an hour. We were to immerse ourselves fully in a designated environment and look really intently at what was going on around us—who was there, what they were doing, what the ambiance was like, etc. In other words, we were being tasked to stalk people for an hour. Discreetly, of course.
My partner and I chose to visit Spring Street Cafe. I didn’t think much of it at first. After all, it’s only a cafe, and how interesting could conversations there possibly be? I was dreading the hour there, as I knew I’d definitely run out of observations to make. But, as time went on, I discovered a diverse clientele and found out how truly versatile the cafe is. Here are the five different types of people you see at the cafe (take lightly, as they’re based off of my observations and assumptions):
- The Meal-Grabbers
These people are usually made up of the older population, grabbing a meal with a friend or two. They’re at the cafe for two possible reasons: they genuinely just wanted to get together for lunch, and the cafe was their place of choice (as opposed to an actual restaurant); or they already had lunch elsewhere and agreed to get some coffee since they weren’t ready to go home. They’re dressed casually and enjoy the cafe ambiance, talking less and less as time passes.
- The Seniors
Shoes off, feet propped up on adjacent chairs, laptops tilted all the way back, and bodies hunched over the keyboard—they are grinding. These are college seniors who are rushing to meet the upcoming deadlines for their final theses. Usually coming in pairs, they don’t have time to chit-chat and go straight to work. They’re at the cafe because they couldn’t focus in their own rooms, and they’re pressed for time. They’re usually dressed in sweats and hoodies.
- The Students
Much like the seniors, these students are at the cafe because they focus better there. They have course packets next to their laptop, and they’re getting to work. However, unlike the seniors, they have some time to spare and a lot less pressure on their shoulders. They make some small talk, catch up on each other’s lives, and take little breaks from work to browse through upperclassmen housing or a cute pair of boots. They also keep their shoes on.
- The Friends
This group of people are at the cafe to chill. They had some time to spare and decided to hang out at the cafe. Usually leaning forward towards each other, they spill their tea, with exaggerated hand gestures and facial expressions, before throwing their heads back in laughter. They tend to talk a bit louder than everyone else in the room, and they’re honestly just enjoying life while they can.
- The People With a Power Dynamic
They could be an interviewer and an interviewee, a professor and a student, a mentor and a mentee, or an employer and an employee. These people are at the cafe to get to know each other outside of a strictly business or professional sense to better the work environment or achieve some sort of career-related goal. They can be found talking about “the rarity of historians in different geographic events” or something similar, like physics. Their laughter is rehearsed and animated, and there’s a lot of vigorous head-nodding throughout these interactions. They’re also dressed business-casually.
Although there were many more different interactions going on in the cafe, these were the ones that stuck out to me the most. Unfortunately, I wasn’t able to witness any dates, but I still learned a lot in that hour and realized how fulfilling just observing people can be. I highly recommend it the next time you have nothing to do (although an hour was a bit too long), and I hope you enjoyed this piece!