The Stage:

I decided to do my observation in the lobby of the an athletic center located in Kamloops. I started observing on the evening of October 28th, 2016. The observation lasted 17 minutes. The surrounding was busy. Sounds of whistles and cheering were in the background where a volleyball tournament was taking place. The smell was what reminded me of cleaning chemicals and rubber. The mood was “athletic”. The lighting was bright, as the building is very spacious. The type of people seemed to be either parents, grandparents, or guardians picking up their child from swimming lessons, gymnastics, or another sporting sessions. There were also people coming to work out, run on the track, or swim a few laps and relax in the hottub later. One thing that I found very interesting was that almost everyone that seemed to be coming or going from a workout, was listening to music. Another interesting observation I made was that everyone, including children, and guardians, had a water bottle of some sort. The people waiting for someone, interacted with each other briefly, until the child came out and they were ready to go. The people coming and going from a workout seemed to be on a mission. They didn’t speak to anyone, as almost all had headphones in, and didn’t stop in the lobby.

The Blocking:

The Players:

During my observation all ages were present, as well as all genders. Ethnicity was very multicultural and the clothing everyone wore was sporty. The people I chose to observe were very interesting. First was a mother, and her son. They were sitting on lounge chairs near the door waiting for a ride I assumed. The mother was on her cell phone and the son, playing on a tablet. They were both dressed normally, but looked as if they had just been swimming. While entertaining themselves on their devices, the mother would look up occasionally to assess the surroundings. They stayed in the lounge chairs for about 10 minutes of my observation until seeing their ride arrive. From there they both gathered their things and walked outside to the awaiting vehicle.

The second group of people I started to observe was a boy and a girl sitting together waiting for a ride. I assumed that they were siblings as they were around the same age (16). They were comfortable with each other and clearly together, but yet didn’t seem interested in conversation, or talking at all. The boy seemed younger than the girl. The boy was listening to music while playing on his phone. He was dressed athletically and drinking protein which made me think he had just come from a workout. The girl was dressed athletically as well. She had her phone in her hand but wasn’t interested in it. Instead she was people watching, observing her surroundings. She seemed to have both her belongings and the boys which was a total of 2 bags and 2 backpacks she was guarding. When the girl saw their ride pull up just outside the doors, she punched the boy in the arm, letting him know it was time to go. They both walked outside, the girl carrying all the bags and the boy still distracted by his phone almost walking blindly to the vehicle awaiting them.

The third group I had the opportunity to observe was situated right beside me. This group was different than the last 2 because I could hear their conversation. There was about 8 kids, all genders and ages from about 6-8. The two guardians were both mothers of one of the kids in the group. It was someone’s birthday party and everyone had just been swimming. When the group came to sit by me, it was time for cupcakes. The kids were so excited and couldn’t wait for their own. The mothers handed them out with napkins while asking the kids if they had fun swimming. After all the kids had a cupcake the mothers sat down and started to talk. It seemed like they were continuing a conversation from earlier on. The jist of it was about how busy life is. The one mom was complaining about how her husband went on a fishing trip for a week, leaving her to do all the work by herself. She explained to the other mom that while working full time, she had to do all the shopping, chauffeur the kids around, and make all meals. She said she wish she could just take a week off and have no worries like her husband. The other mom agreed and explained her fantasy morning: to sleep in, enjoy a coffee and relax, and then read all day in her pajamas with no worries or stress. I thought this was a very interesting conversation as life is very busy for everyone, in their own way.

The Plot:

My characters behaviours were very interesting. The mother and son were very occupied with their devices. I thought this was because the other option was people watching which can be boring. They were waiting too which is also very boring and hard to be patient. The mother looking up every few minutes I thought to be because she was assessing her surroundings as an instinctual action to keep an eye out for danger or threats to her and her son. My second pair of characters were the brother and sister. The brother was very occupied but his phone and music. I concluded this to be because since he was sipping on protein, this suggested he had just had an intense workout, and being all fired up to sitting and being bored isn’t an option for a teenage, energetic boy. The girl was very deep in thought. She had her phone but was not interested. I thought this to be interesting because patiently waiting is boring. Her thoughts seemed to occupy her though. When their ride arrived, the fact that the girl punched the boy confirmed that they were indeed siblings. Lastly, the two mothers with the birthday party. The type of conversation they were having they could both relate to, having children and a family along with a career. I even related to the complaining. My own mother leaves the house at 8:30am and doesn’t get home till 9-9:30pm. She works so hard having two jobs and a family. These moms were expressing the fantasy of every mother out there, to have some relaxing time.

The Finale:

In conclusion, I believe that my observation was successful. I felt comfortable in the setting as I am a frequent visitor to the place of observation. The people I observed were very typical and also seemed comfortable in the setting. The mom and her son, and the brother and sister were very similar. The two moms I found most interesting because I could listen in on their conversation. Overall the observation taught me many lessons, improved my people watching skills, and taught me that at anytime while I’m in public, I could be being studied. 😉