Mini-study

I spent my time at Bongo Java watching and taking field notes. I chose this location as my field site for a couple reasons. One is that I love coffee and I could drink while I watched and secondly, it's a close location for campus, making it easy to visit often.

I made myself comfortable each time on the outside patio. I visited twice for this study and both times, it was a gorgeous outside. The sun was shining , the temperature was around 70-72 degrees, though it felt warmer with the sun on you. I longed to take in a lungful of fresh fall air but was choked up by all the smoke. It seemed that over 50% of people sitting on the patio outside were smokers. Due to Nashville laws about smoking inside restaurants, that includes coffee shops, it made sense that people would be smoking outsides. However, we are on a college campus, so the majority of people at this coffee shop were students, evidenced by all the bookbags and backpacks propped next to their owners. Again, it made sense then that there would be smoking at this location since Belmont is a smoke-free campus. Still, I couldn't help but be taken back by the fact that these smokers were so young. With all the literature and advertisements about the harmful effects of smoking, I am perplexed. Could it be the pressures of school? Is it a casual thing? Whatever the reasons, I am sure they are vast and I was just observing and not asking questions.

Bongo seems to be the hub of social activity for campus students. A way to feel away from campus but still close enough to take a quick coffee/cigarette break. Most of the people I watched on the patio were talking, there were a few people reading or on their computers, but this seemed to be a time to catch up with old and new friends. There was a couple, on my first visit, sitting right next to me, who appeared to be on a first date of sorts. She sat very closed off, upright with her hands in her lap and her legs crossed. They bounced back and forth with stories of where they were from, interests, etc. He seemed more comfortable and he leaned back in his chair with his hands behind his head.

Another trend I noticed at Bongo was all the plaid. There was literally one table of 5 young men, all in plaid, not to mention the other plaid strewn across the patio like a splatter of paint. It felt like 6th grade all over again for me, I could hear Nirvana playing in the background of my mind.

These visits just touched the surface but two trends I noticed were plaid and smoking. I would be curious to see if those two were connected somehow; if it has anything to do with image? Curious.