Final Project Link

http://sarahunderwood.weebly.com/

Final Project

The end of the semester is getting close, and I am almost finished with my ethnography project. I am doing my project on Chessmen's Pizza in Bridgewater MA. For weeks now I have been observing, experiencing and interviewing the people of Chessmen's. I have recently come to the conclusion that Chessmen's is special because of their small business touches, like homemade recipes and personalization with customers.  Its these things that set them apart from other restaurants, specifically big chain like Dominos and Papa Gino's.
I think my project is going very well. I have completed the paper, but still need to put the finishing touches on, like details here and there, and more creative titles and subtitles. I am surprised by how much I have learned to be a better writer and observer through this project, and I hope my new skills stay with me throughout the upcoming summer vacation.

Drafts and Revision

After reading the excerpt from our book, I feel much more confident in writing my final paper. This reading highlighted the important things I need to write about. For example, I need to discover a theory. The book said that this may happen on its own, or I need to look for it. I'm not really sure what my theory about Chessmen's Pizza is yet, but I'm sure I'll find it. The reading also suggested to lay out all my notes and papers out on a table, so I can see what I have to work with. I think this will help me write a great final paper.

related link:
http://www.sas.upenn.edu/anthro/anthro/draftingthepaper

Learning to Interview

     Its a scary thought; sitting down with a stranger and asking them personal questions about their life and goals. But after reading "Learning How to Ask" I feel more comfortable about it. The article explained how there are closed questions and open questions. Closed questions "often yield single phrases as answers and can shut down further talk"(239). Then there are open questions that "help elicit your informant's perspective and allow for more conversational exchange"(239). Open questions are what help the interview keep rolling and not become awkward with short answers. This is definitely something I will try to do in my own interviews.
     The story "I Can Read and I Can Write" really struck me for some reason. The story about "Lee" in his adolescent highlighted the importance of education in life. The way he tells his story makes you really feel for him, and the authors commentary on his actions bring it to life. Just the noting on how he sat, and wiped his spectacles made me as the reader connect with him, as if i was there myself. Its actions like these that average  people would overlook, and not see the importance of. After reading this story I will pay attention to these things when I interview people.

http://www.lnrr.org/history.html

3.24.11

     After reading "Hanover Gems" I learned many new things about bowling and its history. I was surprised that bowling has been around for pretty much ever, and it hasn't even changed that much. An interesting fact that I learned was that the first automatic pinsetter was invented in the 1940's. I had never really thought about how the pins were set up before, it must had been such a pain to set each pin up after they were knocked over.
     The essay described a women who had been bowling for a total of 53 years. This interested me because its hard to stick to one hobby for such a long time. I am also surprised by the fact that the women are not as competitive as the men. Its a nice idea of women hanging out with each other and not at each other's throats.
     I am impressed that the "Bowladrome" is also a family place, because at first it sounded like it was just for adult leagues. I am also surprised that there is no monitor score keeping. I have never bowled at a place that had the paper score sheets, I wouldn't even know how to do them.

Group Projects

My group, the Kiwis, are doing our project on effectively incorporating visuals in documents. We went online and discovered there are a lot more visuals then just photographs. There are graphs, tables, diagrams, charts, and illustrations. All of these things can be used to help the reader, or audience better understand what your talking about.
I think the project is going well for my group. We decided how we will organize our presentation and who will discuss what. We tried to split the work evenly amongst us, and plan to work together on the powerpoint itself.

Online Portfolio Link

http://www.weebly.com/weebly/main.php#

This is the link to my English 102 midterm portfolio.

Observation Practice

I am observing the lobby of the freshmen dorm Shea Durgin. I am sitting on a bench right after the check-in desk. Notes:
SPACE:
-Fabrics of the seats are school colors "crimson"
-Tiled floor
-Wood paneling
-Posters adverting campus events
PEOPLE:
-Everyone is very rushed... does this change for different parts of the day?
-Everyone has bags...a lot of people have vera bradley bags, or north face backpacks
-Just saw someone drop all of their papers from a binder, I feel bad for them
-No one stops to help them. I pretend like I didn't see them
-No one makes eye contact with me
-A lot of people have their cell phones in their hand

Reflecting on my notes from observing the lobby of Shea Durgin, I realized that everyone is pretty general. I tried to find unique characteristics but everyone was following the same trend. They wore similar clothes, and accessories. They all came through the front door, scanned their connect card, checked bags and went to the elevators like a herd of cattle. I was expecting to see different types of people, but instead they made me realize how stereotypical everyone is. I felt really bad for the girl who dropped all her papers. I was going to get up to help her but I was interested to see who else would stop and was surprised when no one did. I thought people would be more compassionate then that but clearly I was wrong.

http://www.bridgew.edu/rlh/halls/shea_durgin.cfm

"Lay of the Land" essay response

While reading, “Lay of the Land” I really enjoyed all of the descriptions. I felt like a really understood what the place looked like and operated.  I got a good feel of the people there, and how they interacted with each other. I specifically liked the description of the “glowing” wood lanes and the “red rug that harbors numerous stains from sodas and pizza spilt over the years.” These minor details tell the reader a lot more about the place.

I think the essay was organized well, starting from walking into the place and the course of the night to the ending observations. It was well written and coherent. As I preciously discussed the content was very sufficient. However, I am left with some questions. I would like to know more about how these people made you feel. Did you feel awkward with them there? Or did they seem inviting to talk to? Are you nervous to go back and ask more questions? These questions would help me understand the culture of the bowling alley better.

related link: (cut and paste into browser address bar)
http://www.improvebowling.com/leagueinfo2.html

2/4/11

I think that because of my fixed position as a young college student, and because I am so interested in the restaurant it will be easy for me to observe and learn the culture of the place. I know how things work at my favorite pizza place at home so hopefully I will be able to recognize similarities and differences here. For example, who comes here besides college students? Is it family oriented, and do local teens or adults enjoy it? What makes this place special or unique, and creates the overall attitude? Do they offer special deals, or promotions like “yellow cards” to keep customers coming back? I also have business questions such as who its owned and operated by, and its history in Bridgewater. I intend to answer these questions through fieldwork.

I already know a few facts about Chessmen’s, but not a lot. I know that “Chessman’s Pizza” is located close to Bridgewater State University, and from my understanding is very popular with the college kids. I have driven by at night, and it seems to be somewhat busy. It has lights shining from inside and out so its hard to miss driving by. Unfortunately this is all I know about them at the moment.  

1/28/11

In the essay, "The Town Hangout?" I found many things interesting and surprising. I found it surprising how much the author remembered about her local bowling alley. She mentions the smells, lights, and busyness of the bowling alley and her reactions when she first walked in. I found these surprises to be interesting because in my hometown we have a bowling alley that seems to have a similar atmosphere.

I like the way the essay was structured and organized however I felt the wording was sometimes informal and incoherent. I found myself thinking to myself, " If I had wrote this I would have re-worded it to say,..."However, the essay flowed together nicely and acted kinda like a timeline, starting from the beginning of her interest in the "bowladrome" to her final conclusions.