Ethnography

I went to the Starbucks near my apartment in Northridge on Saturday, September 19th, 2009. It was a hot autumn afternoon, right after I left Mikomicon, an anime convention. Upon entering, I ordered a drink and took a seat by the window near the counter so I could have a good view of all the customers in the cafe. Once I got my drink, I opened my book to begin recording notes.

There are four cashiers total, three of which were

female and one male. They all look to be about college-aged. Already in the cafe are an Asian male and an Asian girl, both working individually at their own tables. The Asian male is looking around the cafe while reading a textbook. The Asian girl has a newspaper open on top of her pencil case and book. To my right, by the counter, a white girl and an older white male are having a conversation about school. The girl carries most of the conversation, explaining about how she was checking e-mail and what should be sent, how she had to handle sports first to make sure an appointment can work out. The white man remarks about how difficult it seems, which closes the conversation, and he leaves first. After a few minutes, the girl also goes, taking the back door. A Hispanic woman comes in, orders her drink quietly, then sits down across from the Asian girl, diagonal however so that they are not facing each other. A biker comes in and strikes up a conversation with the female cashier at the register. He seems to be a regular, as they share a friendly rapport about how he is doing and what the day is like. Another older white male walks in, perhaps another regular, because the cashier and him chat about walking and not walking enough. Their conversation continues as she makes his drink.

All the tables at Starbucks are slowly filling up as people come in and sit down with their drinks. Another white male walks in, orders a tall hot drink and sits down with his laptop once he gets it. The Asian male is now staring off into the distance while the Asian girl has abandoned the newspaper (which the Hispanic woman has begun to read) and is looking through her textbook.

Although I cannot see them, I can hear the three female cashiers gossiping behind the counter about a guy (the kind that you could take anywhere). Apparently, they know each other well enough to know siblings by name, although not by age, as one girl brings up her brother, who is coming to town, and the tattoo he has, one with a heart with a puzzle piece that fits inside of it. A father and son walk in, standing a bit away from the counter, an indication that they are thinking about what they want. None of the friendly rapport from the previous customers occur, so they probably are not regulars. Having served their customers, the male cashier returns from cleaning around the store and joins the conversation the female cashiers are having.

A group of four Asians walk in. The two girls point to the food display. One male goes to the restroom while the other takes a table and sits with his laptop. The younger Asian girl takes the table across from him and chats while the older woman orders two drinks, then joins the younger girl. All three talk. Meanwhile, a white girl, perhaps associated with sports from the design on her shirt, is next to walk in. Again, the social norm is to stand in the back before approaching the counter with her decision. Once that is done, she takes a table, cleaning the top before officially sitting down. A white mother and her two girls, about the age of six and ten, are the next to enter. They approach the counter almost immediately, with the mother discussing with the older girl what they want to order. The interaction between the mother and her children is very sweet: she sings and dances along with them in public while discussing the party that they will head over to later. More customers come in and slowly file into a line. The male cashier is now making the drinks, as the African American cashier has left. Two more Asian girls walk in and wait, leaning against the stand until the cashier calls out to them before they will walk up and order. Once they have done so, one girl takes the big table with the very first Asian girl while the other goes to the restroom. A white woman comes in asking for where the restroom is, which an employee readily points out to her.

An Asian couple walks in. The male pays while the girl walks around, then comes back. Together, they look at the products while waiting for their drinks. The previous Asian group that had walked in are chatting together at their two tables, although separately. The younger male shows the two girls an ad, which the younger girl studies more seriously than the older. They now speak amongst themselves. An older white male comes in, orders his drink, and leans on the counter while waiting for his money back. He puts his change in his pocket, counts the dollars, and throws the receipt into the trashcan. He leans on the counter while a female employee makes his drink, then thanks her. The male coworker says goodbye to his coworkers, using, "Bye, guys," even though they are all female.

The discussion between the coworkers about the brother and the tattoo was interesting, because they specifically mentioned him having a heart tattoo with a puzzle piece inside. While I could not hear most of the conversation, they did seem surprised. Although men in our society are now being slowly encouraged to be more open with their feelings and be romantic, the fact that they brought it up is a sign that even with the media broadcasting, it is still more uncommon than common. The reference itself to the puzzle piece was symbolic of the missing piece in his life that he was searching for, but this may only be because I have been culturalized to believe that sort of thing.

While at Starbucks, there weren't too many couples that showed up. I did find it interesting however how people knew to stand in the back if they had not yet decided what to order. It was more often in the younger generation however that people did this; the mother and the older white male who came in last waited at the front of the counter while making their decisions. This could almost be called a display of dominance. The Asian girls who came in waited for the cashier to call them before, perhaps a reflection of their own culture. We learn naturally to stand in the back while thinking, so that any customers who walk in and know what they want already can order first. It is not taught officially to us, merely picked up. In addition, the group of Asians who walked in may have been there more because of enriching friendships, not romantic relationships, because they sat based on gender, not girl with guy, girl with guy. They were one of the few groups who remained at Starbucks to socialize, although one of the men had brought his laptop, so he was probably there because he realized the women would chat for a long time, so he might as well get some work done while he could.

I found the male co-worker's usage of "guys" referring to his female coworkers a specific feature of the California dialect. It is a shortened version of the phrase, "guys and gals," and may be a sign of the word usage slowly changing. In some areas of the country, people will use "y'all" or "yous." Here in California however, we ignore gender and simply use "guys." It could be a sign of his casual relationship with his coworkers, because he did not use “girls,” which while it would have been more correct gender-wise, sets him apart from them. His choice of "guys" brings them closer, because he acknowledges them as equals.

From the looks of it, Starbucks is both a place where people can gather and meet socially and a retreat where people can study or work. It is both convenient and cheap, because people can simply order a drink and spend less than five dollars, then sit at a table for hours. Whether or not coming to cafes to study started off as a rarity that influenced movie makers or became popular because of movies, the majority of the people who came into Starbucks either stayed for a long time with their drinks and working, or left almost immediately. My sister often goes to cafes to study, and it was not until I actually came myself and got a feel for the environment that I now understand why she likes to do so. We are each enclosed in our own world, which consists of the table we choose to sit at and the drink, which serves as our subsistence. Even if we do not come with our own music, the cafe plays something to entertain us. It is a symbol of getting things accomplished, perhaps why those who stay often stay instead of simply leaving. When we think of cafes, we think of not just getting a drink, but also socializing with friends or a place where we can work quietly to ourselves and not be disturbed. It has been established as a cultural space to socialize and work, not simply a place to purchase food and drink.