Download Allen Field Notes 1

Field Notes: Danielle Allen
February 16, 2014
1:00 pm
Food Court in Northgate Mall; Durham, NC
Time
Observation
1:00 pm
1:05 pm
1:10 pm
1:15 pm
1:20 pm
Food court area is quite busy- pretty much all of the tables except for 4 or 5
are occupied. The area is quite noisy. At the table to my left sits an older
African-American man and woman. The woman is eating ice cream or frozen
yogurt and the man is drinking from a plastic coffee cup. They are engaged in
what appears to be casual conversation. A young man and young woman, both
African-American and looking to be between 18-24 years old, are sitting at
another table, but do not have food. They appear to be people watching and
talking.
Latino mother and four children (two older girls and two younger kids, a boy
and a girl) sit down. One of the younger children is sitting in a stroller. The
group is looking around as if they are waiting for someone else. A few minutes
later, an older Latino male joins them, carrying shopping bags. They are all
speaking Spanish. The two older girls leave the table to order food. The older
couple is still seated, talking, but the man is now checking his watch every
couple of minutes. The woman does not appear to be in a hurry.
Three African-American teenage girls eating Chinese food and playing on their
phones. They are wearing skinny jeans, fashionable sneakers, and fitted
hoodies. Discussing plans for the evening. They also appear to be taking
pictures “selfies” with their phones and scrolling through screens on their
phones, perhaps social media platforms such as Instagram. One of the girls
shows the other two girls something on her phone. One of the girls rolls her
eyes, and the other laughs. The Latino girls return with two large trays
holding several drinks and plates of food. The mother takes the youngest child
out of the stroller and proceeds to help her eat. The older African-American
couple is still seated but only the woman is still eating. The gentleman appears
to have finished his coffee.
The older African-American gentleman stands up from the table as if to prod
the woman to do the same. She gathers her belongings and the two exit the
food court, throwing their trash away as they leave. Two individuals with
guide dogs walk through food court. They appear to be blind, and are both
white. Their dogs are attracting attention, as many people turn and stare as
they walk through the area. They do not sit down, but continue walking,
presumably towards the exit. Security guards casually walk through food
court, scanning the crowd and talking/laughing with one another. They
appear to share a joke/laugh with one of the mall custodians wiping down
tables. Latino family continues eating. The older girls are laughing and joking
with one another.
Young African-American woman with two smaller children. Talking on phone
1:25 pm
while watching the kids eat. She is wearing tights, boots, a tunic, and a coat.
She appears to be agitated with the phone conversation, as her tone rises and
she makes several annoyed facial expressions. She occasionally reprimands
the children for getting food on their clothing, and wipes their faces with a
napkin. She has several shopping bags and is shifting them under the seats
next to her to ensure their safekeeping. The Latino family appears to be
almost finished with their food. They allow the younger children to roam
around the food court and play while the others family members finish their
meal.
Large group of teens enters food court. Three boys, four girls. One of the boys
and two of the girls sit at a large table while others leave to order their food.
They are quite jovial, laughing and joking with one another good-naturedly.
One of the boys appears to be flirting with one of the girls, playing with her
hair and holding her hand. She appears to enjoy the attention, as she smiles
and flirts back. The Latino family begins gathering their bags and call the
younger children back over to the table. The children take a minute to come
back to the table, but eventually comply with their parents’ request. The
family disposes of their trash and leaves the food court.
Observation #2
February 17, 2014
2:30 pm
Southpoint Mall Food Court
Time
Observation
2:30 pm
2:35 pm
2:40 pm
Two males observed eating Chick-fil-A. They were sitting across from one
another, one facing my direction and the other facing away from me. They
appeared to be in their late teens/early twenties. Both were wearing dressy
casual attire- designer jeans and button down shirts. They appeared to be
more focused on eating than in engaging in dialogue. They occasionally made
comments back and forth and laughed, and looked around the food court as if
they were watching for someone.
One of the two males eating gets up and leaves the table. The other guy
checked his phone and appeared to be scrolling through the screen. When the
first guy returned, he put his phone away. While they were sitting down
eating, one of the guys reached across the table and took a waffle fry from the
other guy’s tray. After finishing their food, they picked up their trays, took
them to a trash can, and left.
Two young teenaged girls (pre-teens) walked through the food court carrying
trays with pizza and sat adjacent from me. They ate pizza and talked excitedly.
One of the girls was white and the other appeared to be Asian. Both were
wearing jeans, t-shirts, and sneakers. At several points the girls appeared to
scan the crowd and point conspicuously, as if pointing out someone they
knew. A group of six older (50s-60s) white women entered the food court and
sat at two tables. They were dressed in slacks and sweaters, and carried bags
from Ann Taylor and Anthropologie. They conversed casually amongst
themselves, and two women left to order food. The rest of the women at the
table talked about how nice the weather had been over the weekend and how
they expected the mall to be much more crowded after the snow storm.
2:45 pm The two teenage girls continue eating and talking with one another. The two
older women who left returned to the table with cups of water. They joined in
the conversation, which had now turned to the snow storm and how the
poorly prepared they felt the area was for such weather. A mall custodian
walked through the area, clearing trash from tables and pushing chairs under.
She was short in stature, Latino, and appeared to be around 40-50 years of
age. No one appeared to acknowledge her presence as she went about her
cleaning tasks. Two young women wearing Foot Action uniforms walk quickly
through the food court searching for a table. One young woman sits down and
the other heads to a food counter to order food.
2:50 pm The group of older women begins gathering their belongings to leave. They
exit the food court, conversing and laughing on their way out. The young
woman in the Foot Action uniform is waiting at the table, going through her
phone and scanning the food court. She begins to tap her foot impatiently and
her coworker returns with a tray of food. They exchange a few words and the
second young woman leaves to get her food. The first young woman sits and
begins eating, going through her phone and making a phone call while she
eats. The two preteens appear to be finished with their pizza, and one of the
girls makes a phone call while the other appears to listen.
Observation ended at 3:00 pm