#amnhmuseumanthro

At the concert of classical music:

-People from the audience where taking pictures of the kids playing the violins and cellos -Parents where interacting with other parents - People from the audience were offering their seats to older peole -Males were being polite and opening the doors for women and kids.

On a bus on my way to east side Manhattan:

-They would let people get off the bus first and then the other people would get in. -People would get in doing a line and they would let older people first. -They would give their seats to pregnant women or people with disabilities. -People usually talk in a low tone

Universal Studios Orlando, Florida:

Junction Boulevard Observations:

-Many stores-->People going in and out of stores, mostly females and children.

-Man handing out free fliers to advertise a store.

-Man in front of a store repeatedly shouting that his store buys gold.

-Two children are buying hotdogs at a nearby hotdog stand.

-Worker from the Thai food restaurant taking a smoke break.

-Children telling their mom to take them to McDonalds.

-Woman having trouble getting into the Chase bank with her credit card.

-Fire hydrant opened, so neighborhood children can play with it.

-An elderly man with one leg is begging for change.

-A lot of people walking around.

-7 Train station--> people going up and down the stairs of the train.

Fieldwork at Carl Schurz Park Promenade 5/3/15 4:29pm-4:51pm

- Variety of people here

- Benches on both sides of the promenade. On one side you can watch the people walk by and on the other you watch the river. It's really nice weather, around eighty degrees with a breeze.

- There's an old white woman in a wheelchair sitting in front of a bench, just watching the people go by. She's with a young black woman and an old white man reading a newspaper, probably her husband.

- The man keeps telling her "Isn't this pleasant" and "It's good to get you out of the room" and "Breathe deeply and look at the sky! There's not a cloud in the sky!" Woman seems pessimistic, responds "The temperature has taken a serious drop"

- At another bench, two women with strollers in front of them are chatting leisurely

- Old-ish man sitting at a bench next to them, alone, looking at river

- Parents walking with a boy around eight years old, they seem frustrated. Mom is yelling at boy because he wants to stay at the park and they need to leave. But this is an exception - most people are calm.

- Lots of fathers and sons walking by with footballs, soccer balls, etc. in their hands

- Many bikers and dog walkers

- Group of teenage girls in almost identical outfits and sunglasses walking by with ice cream cones

- Some kids playing hide and seek

- Many calm parents with younger kids in strollers are strolling by

- Person with cane is walking along, looking around

- Mostly everyone is strolling peacefully along, soaking in the good weather

- Joggers with headphones

- Father is taking pictures on his phone of his two helmet clad daughters by the river

- Woman is taking pictures on her phone of the flowers

- A woman with a rolling machine to help her breathe like in the fault in our stars is walking by with a man.

- Multiple young couples sitting on benches staring at the water

- Roller blading daughter dad duo

- Woman has a stroller with a little dog wrapped in a leopard blanket

- A man has a kite and is starting to fly it. His kids are intrigued, the kite is drawing the attention of everyone. Pretty soon a bigger group of kids is gathered around the kite flyer. The kids are delighted, but everyone else on the promenade is too. Adults are looking up at it and smiling.

- The man is letting his kid fly the kite, and he's taking pictures of him on his phone.

- Dude is passing me who's walking, listening to music, AND reading

- Parents are having fun with their kids

- Couple walks by, arms around each other

- All in all, there's a happy, carefree atmosphere

- Everyone seems to be dressed comfortably

In parks, you usually see all types of people, in terms of their ethnicity, age difference, gender difference etc, all contribute to the makeup of a park. On Sunday, I went to Kissena Park, which I observed others under a tree. I did, however, walk around a bit, just to look at difference activities people were doing at difference places.

When I first arrived, I saw a pond where adolescents, teenagers, young adults, adults, elders run/ walk around. There are a lot of benches around it. A lot of benches sat elders and younger kids, maybe around the age 3-8. In the morning, benches were mostly sat on by the elders, but as noon came to be, there were less people sitting on it. However as the night/afternoon approached, more elders were sitting on the benches talking to their family members/friends. Benches that were connected (very long) sat elders who looks like spending time with their grand children. However benches that were short (fitted about 3 people) sat individuals who wanted a quiet time in the park. When I walked around the park in the morning, I noticed a group of Chinese elders dancing to their cultural music. A lot of them were exercising and at the same time playing a Chinese sport. In addition, there was a teenager who looked very enthusiastic about playing soccer. He was teaching and having fun with younger kids. To me, it looked like they were in some type of camp.

Date: Monday, 05/04/15

Start Time: 4:00 p.m (Daylight)

End Time: 7:00 p.m (Daylight)

Conditions: 83° at start, 76° at finish

Location: High Line (1.45 Mile Linear Park)

High Line is a linear park built adjacent to and above an abandoned railroad called the 'West Side Line'. It is 1.45 miles in length, and was created to commemorate the wild plants that had grown atop the railroad following its disuse. High Line is not very known to the majority of the New York City population. High Line garners around 5 million visitors annually, compared to Central Park, which receives an estimated 40 million visitors annually. Albeit, High Line is not a park in the same way Central is. It is not as large, and attracts people mainly due to the view of vegetation with an urban backdrop.

The majority of the population I observed on this day was composed of young adults, the elderly, or couples/groups (couples: non-romantically) Rarely did I see people below the age of (about) 20 unaccompanied. Through the course of my observations at High Line park, I have come across multiple similarities in the behavior of the people present on this day. They are very unconcerned with the behavior and mannerisms of others, as proved by the lack of concern displayed when three young men on skateboards glided closely past them, when a group of girls began to dress a tree in a bikini, or by the multiple people sleeping on these benches.

Due to what I believe to be a combination of the weather, their comfort zones, and the immediate environment, people were generally walking at a slow pace. At times where narrow walkways or heavy traffic would advise them to speed up, a low amount (3 out of 5) did. This behavior is common in places such as this: in a place where you are surrounded by nature, there is no similar feeling of urgency as there might be on a city street.

An interesting moment arose when a women began to speak of tourists in an obviously mocking tone. I found that there wasn't any distinction or identifying factor to differentiate people that were from New York City and people that might not have been: most people were documenting their trip, speaking at a generally acceptable tone, and keeping to themselves (as is a 'social-norm' in New York City). However, there were a few exceptions to this, as not everyone holds the same expectations and feelings of what is acceptable. Instances occurred such as a photographer getting extremely close to a couple to take a picture. To my surprise, these two people did not react with obvious discomfort. Their conversation did not stall when he bent over in front of them to capture the balcony view they sat in front of, and continued well after he left. At High Line, there was no shortage of photographers, professional or not. Two, seemingly strangers, had even stopped to discuss their pictures! I found this significant because whenever I had previously seen photographers, they were even more separated from the overall population.

As I was leaving High Line, I witnessed more than ten people with their shoes off, feet on the public chairs and (stone) benches. This was drastically different from when I'd arrived, as I had not seen one person without shoes on. I believe this to be because of the significant thinning of the crowd at High Line, the time, and their differencing standards (from others) of what is publicly appropriate. Nonetheless, what struck me as most notable was a woman with an evident fascination for what this park had to offer. The woman was simply staring at the trees across from her, with a serene and pleased expression on her face. She seemed content to just watch them, with no care of how still they were.