Starbucks Observation

My first observation took place on Friday, October 9, 2015 at a Starbucks located in San Marcos. It was 4:05 PM when two men got their drinks and sat down on a table to my left. They both were having on a conversation where I immediately noticed laughter and joy. Both men smiled as they spoke to each other and it seemed as if they were both having a good time. My first assumption was that they were businessmen based on the professional attire that they were wearing. They were well groomed, each wearing a suit, and carrying a leather suit case. Person A looked the youngest, was about 6’2, and between 30-35 years of age. He was white, had his blond hair combed to the side, had no facial hair, had a muscular physique, wore a black suite, and a

Their professional attire and suitcases lead me to think that. However, I also noticed that both men got along pretty well, remained respectful and attentive at all times, and seemed to be good friends. Their respectful behavior is an example of a symbolic act that Bailey’s article mentioned. This natural act of respect is achieved unconsciously based on their frequent interaction that a person has with each other and awareness of what is appropriate when interaction with that particular person. As Bailey states, it is applied “through manipulation of variety of communicative channels including prosody, choice of words and topic, proxemic distance and timing of utterances” (p.115). In addition, I was also able to observe that their body behavior was not of what it is expected of two professionals. You would normally expect these them to show no emotions, speak slowly, use complicated business related vocabulary, and limited body movement. However, we know these men weren't at work during that time, making it understandable for them to behave “normal” and being open with each other. Based on their behavior and body movements, I came to the conclusion that they were good friends. They would constantly smile and laugh together during their conversation. What surprised me the most was when I heard person A call person B “brotha”. That got me off guard since my assumptions about them were different. When

This particular classroom is held in a lecture hall with a total of 250 students. I decided to do my last two observations in this classroom due to the diverse range of scenarios that the classroom setting has to offer. Both observations were conducted 10 minutes before class and both pairs of people whom I observed were seated in front of