Well, my freshman year @Bridgewater State University is coming to a close. Classes are over, and I wait anxiously to take my finals and enjoy the sweet summertime. Here is my Writing 102 Final Portfolio, which demonstrates my complete and final ethnographic research project! I hope you enjoy.
Audrey's Writing 102 Portfolio!
Monday, May 2, 2011
Friday, April 15, 2011
15 April 2011- Magic Carpet
Magic Carpet
After reading Chantelle's Lay of the Land essay, I feel as if I have been to the day care that she observed before. The bold and bright details that she used captivated me in the essay, and it was like I could see the children and hear their voices in all of the chaos. As Chantelle maps out the day care, she briefly mentions the rug area of the classroom.
"How about you meet me on the rug and ill go get the globe."
The globe, the stories, the wonder of it all. From Chantelle's observations, I felt as if the rug was like a magic carpet, where the children could adventure into their imaginations. China was a chinese food restaurant, and all the kids knew was "I think I can, I think I can." On the rug, the children could do anything and be anyone. The magic carpet.
Friday, April 1, 2011
1 April 2011- Facing the Facts
Facing the Facts
As we approach essay 3, the interview portion of our ethnography research project, I begin to feel uneasy about interviews. Being the "fly on the wall" has been easy thus far, but now that I have to actually FACE the facts (and the people), I hesitate as to what I want to know. I feel as if the spot light is now on me, and I need to figure out a way to project my thoughts and questions to my audience.
From the reading, I learned for about the mechanisms of asking. Instead of having the idea of a general interview (I ask, you answer sort of thing), I now feel more comfortable knowing that it will be more conversational and natural. I also feel as if I still need to observe while interviewing, because a person's mannerisms say a lot about the story they are telling along with the verbal response they have. While paying attention to other people's mannerisms and answers, I will be in control of how I look so that I am able to listen well and they don't feel as if they are talking to thin air.
History
Reading "I Can Read and I Can Write" by Jennette Edwards allowed me to get a new perspective on how to collect historical information about my location. Instead of looking things up in books and online, I now have another outlet to do so, verbally! Edwards uses a lot of the techniques that I picked up from the reading on interviews, such as using the person's mannerisms to portray observations and facts at the same time through interview. Edwards did a great job finding out about the history of Jackson Avenue, while helps the reader connect to not only the people but the place itself.
Friday, March 25, 2011
25 March 2011- Bowling Through the ages
Bowling Through the Ages
Reading the interview portion of the ethnography project gave me a great understanding of what my own could be like. The author did a great job not only talking to people, but observing more about the alley itself, the people it housed, and the way it all made her feel. The author went back and talked to people she had talked to before (such as Carol, the family owner of the Hanover Bowladrome), but also talked to new people as this was the first time she would be there observing the women's bowling league. The essay had a lot of history in it, from the history of bowling itself to the history of the women playing. Some of these women were young, newer to the game, with their kids running around as the played. Others, in their late 60s had been playing since they were teenagers. The author did a great job connecting the women's league that she was observing to the men's league, which allowed the reader to think back and remember the people she wrote about in her Lay of the Land essay. One comparative note that she used was “We do it for the comradery of it.” She later speaks of how the Monday night men's league is different in many ways, but seem to be in it just to play the game that they love, not simply for the competition. The author makes it clear and concise what she is there for, what the alley is all about, and why the people that are there are there.
 |
| The author first starts by talking with the Hanover Gems, and later states all the other team names, which all happen to be stones of all types. |
"I'm left sitting on the hard plastic orange and blue bench alone, with only my thoughts rolling around like bowling balls in my head."
I know that as I start essay 3, the interview portion of my ethnography project at The Better Bean, I will have a lot of those to conjure as I take in new information, process the old, and figure out everything that made this place the way it is today.
Wednesday, March 16, 2011
Friday, February 18, 2011
18 February 2011- My Notebook
The Bridgewater State University "All Stops" Bus
17 February 2011
5:35 p.m.
-Middle of bus, back to window so I can see everyone.
-Bus driver's choice of music: TECHNO
-Everyone on the bus are freshman students at BSU, an advantage of having the bus stop right in front of Shea/Durgin Halls.
-Everyone on the bus laughs over this music, some embrace it and start dancing; some seemingly annoyed.
-One boy says, "It feels like we're on a party bus, everyone should just get up and start 'fist pumping'," a common Jersey Shore reference.
-All stops bus, people complain about being hungry and just wanting to go to "Tilly" to get some food.
-It was a beautiful day today, it's obvious by the "lack of" winter clothing that everyone is wearing (including flip flops on some of the girls) for a change.
Having been on the "All Stops" bus many times before, what really surprised me was the energy that everyone suddenly had. After a long winter of not wanting to walk across campus in the snow, the bus was much less crowded and everyone seemed to be buzzing more. Although the techno music was kind of cheesy and goofy, more people were up to laughing at it and dancing to it than complaining on the many cold nights I have also been on this same bus with this same bus driver and the same techno music blasting in our ears. In the fall, I most often made my treks across campus in the nice fall weather, but began riding the bus in the winter when the walks were too frigid to bear. Experiencing this better "excitement" and energy brought the sense that spring in here. It's funny how just 15 minutes of observing people after many bus rides of subconsciously "people watching" can bring these realizations.
Friday, February 11, 2011
11 February 2011- Slide, Roll, Slam
Slide, Roll, Slam
In the first paragraph of the essay, I was immediately captured by the imagery and audio components of the writing. I found myself hearing what the author spoke of the bowling alley, picturing the people that made up the leagues and the alley itself. From the first Iresearcher essay to this Lay of the land essay, I feel as if I have a very good idea of the look of the Bowladrome and what it is all about. What I found really key about the essay was that the author decided to take one night to observe, and would ask questions at another time. This let the essay be easy to follow, where it was not overwhelmed with questions, comments, and observations. The separation of all the league teams made the descriptions and identifications easy to follow.
"The man with the gold earring is collecting his turquoise bowling balls and placing them in his small black bowling bag. He pulls on a gray sweatshirt while singing the words to Toby Keith’s Who’s Your Daddy. I guess he is a fan of country music. This guy just makes me laugh because he is so random. It is freezing cold out but he has on shorts, and he is loudly singing while he is gathering his things. He is probably leaving so he get home to watch his wrestling."
The author picks out a such detail about some of the bowlers, and can even make assumptions about them simply by what she sees. The author looks forward to learning more about these people, but for now is left to know what she has seen. Especially about the man with the gold earring.
Thursday, February 3, 2011
4 February 2011- The Better Bean
Having only been to The Better Bean once before, I do not know many details about the coffee shop itself. I went on a Saturday morning in January around 9:30 a.m. with my mom. We sat and had breakfast and coffee (and a vanilla chai, absolutely delicious). Although we only stayed for about half an hour, we were able to observe a income of customers and who they were. The woman behind the counter was alone until 10:00, which may say something about the flow of people that come in at between opening and that time. When we first arrived, two college student and a mother accompanied by her young son (who had a chocolate milk in front of him) were sitting in the shop. While we sat there, only one more group of people came in, who seemed to be a family. What I got from this one experience was that it seems as if it is a low key place for all ages.
What I want to know:
In continuing my research, I have a few things that I would like to know about the shop itself. Is this shop part of a chain, or is it an individually or family owned company? Also, having only having had the chance to observe it once before my research, I find that I want to observe it on all different days of the week, and at different times to see how the business is different. I would like to find out what the hours of the shop are, and talk to the employees about how the flow of business changes throughout the day. The one major thing I would like to compare. I would like to compare The Better Bean to my daily coffee shop back home, The Little Coffee Bean. Living in an area that is not close to many college campuses (closest campus= Dean College= 25 minutes), The Little Coffee Bean was a high school hangout. Everyone came to school in the morning with a LCB coffee in hand, and a breakfast sandwich (the best I've ever had). I would like to observe The Better Bean to find out whether it is more of a college hangout (being in walking distance from BSU) or if it is a high school hangout like The Little Coffee Bean was for me.
Thursday, January 27, 2011
28 January 2011- Iresearcher
Iresearcher was a fun and interesting essay to read. Reading it brought back memories of growing up and our "Hanover Bowladrome" which was the Mendon Town Beach. It was our family gathering spot in the summer, and some of my best friends to this day are those that I met their with theirs families as well. The MTB was jam packed every day of the summer growing up, but I now question whether it is the same family atmosphere that it used to be. The lifeguards and concession stand employees were the same teenagers that worked there as I grew up, and I know that some of those people still spend their summer days at the good old Mendon Town Beach. Reading Iresearcher was an easy read because it was easy to follow and it gave me a sense of what the Hanover Bowladrome looked and felt like. The emotional connection was a great addition, with the coping of a loss and having somewhere to simply escape to. Will have to make it a priority to go and check out the MTB more often this summer, to answer the same questions that were asked about the Hanover Bowladrome. :)
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