s_is_for_skye
New member
Observing Relations between People and their Eating Habits
I began my observations at the Rutherford Mall food fair at about 1:45 p.m. on a Tuesday afternoon. It was just after lunch so the food fair was still quite busy. I noted that there was quite a diverse group of people eating, many different age groups in both genders. I chose to focus on a few different tables in the food fair.
The first table consisted of two elderly Caucasian men that where similarly dressed. They were wearing dark tracksuit jackets and baseball caps. Both had a cup of coffee and were talking with very little body language or facial expressions. The conversation continued in this manner until one of the gentlemen seemed to get caught up in the story that he was telling. He was gesturing quite quickly with his hanRAB and smiling as he spoke. It seemed to me that it must have been an amusing story because the other man laughed out loud and shook his head. Then the conversation returned to normal and they kept chatting for the next 45 minutes.
I then turned my attention to another table at which two Caucasian women in their mid thirties were seated at. The women like the men were drinking coffee and talking. They were at the food fair more for a quick visit than to eat while shopping. The women shared similar attributes, for example they both had short brown hair and wore dark clothing. One of the women seemed to dominant in most of the conversation. She was very expressive with her hand gesturing as well as her facial expressions. She raised her eyebrows and smiled quite a lot through the conversation. The dominant women leaned forward to get closer to the other woman when speaking almost as though she was telling a secret. Then she would sit back to listen to the other lady reply. The women stayed there for about a half an hour before leaving.
The third table that I observed had a large group of children. There was one Caucasian child of about four years of age with a Caucasian woman. Another Caucasian woman joined them with three African-American children, two girls and a boy. The children were seemed happy judging by their big smiles and cheerful chatter. The women helped the children to remove their jackets and get settled in their seats. The children were gesturing by pointing to their food and each other's. It seemed to me as though they were comparing what they all had gotten. The kiRAB talked mainly to each other, answering the questions that they were asked but not starting any conversation with the women themselves. The kiRAB were seated quite close together while the women sat across from each other. They were only there for about 15 minutes before leaving and going their separate ways.
A Caucasian couple in about their early forties took up the next table. They sat side by side at a table that seated four people. The couple both wore wedding rings so I believe that they were married to each other. The woman concentrated on eating her meal while the man read the paper while eating. Neither one of them made any attempt to start up a conversation. The woman stared out into the mall and watched the passing shoppers. This was actually something that I observed a lot of women doing when they were seated alone or the conversation was at a lull. The men were more prone to simply eat their meal and leave. This particular couple finished their food in silence at which time the women made some comment to the man and they left. This couple did not smile once during their meals. It seemed to me that they were uninterested in each other at that particular part of their day.
A young Caucasian man and a baby took the last table. The man looked to be in his early twenties and the father of the baby. The baby was in a stroller seated next to the dad. The young man was eating but the baby kept crying. The father would try to quiet the baby by giving it things to play with and talking in a happy voice. Nothing worked the baby kept crying anyway until the mother arrived at the food fair. The mother was only there a short time before leaving to go outside. The arrival of the mom seemed to calm the baby because as soon as she left the baby started to cry. The young man face tightened as he tried again to calm the baby. Judging by his sighs it seemed as though the father was becoming quite frustrated. The father must have thought that the baby wanted his mother because he told the baby that "Mommy was just outside". The baby kept crying until the young man packed up his lunch and left with the baby perhaps to search for the mother.
Throughout my observations I noticed several different eating habits that were shared by many of the food fair customers. Many of the customers played with their food before they ate. They would push it around with a fork as though searching for the right bite. I noticed that the food fair brought customers with different intentions. Some were there simply to eat and then leave while others were there to meet people and visit with them..
I began my observations at the Rutherford Mall food fair at about 1:45 p.m. on a Tuesday afternoon. It was just after lunch so the food fair was still quite busy. I noted that there was quite a diverse group of people eating, many different age groups in both genders. I chose to focus on a few different tables in the food fair.
The first table consisted of two elderly Caucasian men that where similarly dressed. They were wearing dark tracksuit jackets and baseball caps. Both had a cup of coffee and were talking with very little body language or facial expressions. The conversation continued in this manner until one of the gentlemen seemed to get caught up in the story that he was telling. He was gesturing quite quickly with his hanRAB and smiling as he spoke. It seemed to me that it must have been an amusing story because the other man laughed out loud and shook his head. Then the conversation returned to normal and they kept chatting for the next 45 minutes.
I then turned my attention to another table at which two Caucasian women in their mid thirties were seated at. The women like the men were drinking coffee and talking. They were at the food fair more for a quick visit than to eat while shopping. The women shared similar attributes, for example they both had short brown hair and wore dark clothing. One of the women seemed to dominant in most of the conversation. She was very expressive with her hand gesturing as well as her facial expressions. She raised her eyebrows and smiled quite a lot through the conversation. The dominant women leaned forward to get closer to the other woman when speaking almost as though she was telling a secret. Then she would sit back to listen to the other lady reply. The women stayed there for about a half an hour before leaving.
The third table that I observed had a large group of children. There was one Caucasian child of about four years of age with a Caucasian woman. Another Caucasian woman joined them with three African-American children, two girls and a boy. The children were seemed happy judging by their big smiles and cheerful chatter. The women helped the children to remove their jackets and get settled in their seats. The children were gesturing by pointing to their food and each other's. It seemed to me as though they were comparing what they all had gotten. The kiRAB talked mainly to each other, answering the questions that they were asked but not starting any conversation with the women themselves. The kiRAB were seated quite close together while the women sat across from each other. They were only there for about 15 minutes before leaving and going their separate ways.
A Caucasian couple in about their early forties took up the next table. They sat side by side at a table that seated four people. The couple both wore wedding rings so I believe that they were married to each other. The woman concentrated on eating her meal while the man read the paper while eating. Neither one of them made any attempt to start up a conversation. The woman stared out into the mall and watched the passing shoppers. This was actually something that I observed a lot of women doing when they were seated alone or the conversation was at a lull. The men were more prone to simply eat their meal and leave. This particular couple finished their food in silence at which time the women made some comment to the man and they left. This couple did not smile once during their meals. It seemed to me that they were uninterested in each other at that particular part of their day.
A young Caucasian man and a baby took the last table. The man looked to be in his early twenties and the father of the baby. The baby was in a stroller seated next to the dad. The young man was eating but the baby kept crying. The father would try to quiet the baby by giving it things to play with and talking in a happy voice. Nothing worked the baby kept crying anyway until the mother arrived at the food fair. The mother was only there a short time before leaving to go outside. The arrival of the mom seemed to calm the baby because as soon as she left the baby started to cry. The young man face tightened as he tried again to calm the baby. Judging by his sighs it seemed as though the father was becoming quite frustrated. The father must have thought that the baby wanted his mother because he told the baby that "Mommy was just outside". The baby kept crying until the young man packed up his lunch and left with the baby perhaps to search for the mother.
Throughout my observations I noticed several different eating habits that were shared by many of the food fair customers. Many of the customers played with their food before they ate. They would push it around with a fork as though searching for the right bite. I noticed that the food fair brought customers with different intentions. Some were there simply to eat and then leave while others were there to meet people and visit with them..