Thursday, May 24, 2007

Observations 1

Subject A is eating with, and talking to, subject B. Both male subjects are speaking Korean. Sitting in high, bar-style, chairs at the tall tables in the Union cafeteria, neither subject’s feet reach the floor. Both are using their right hands for utensils. Both are wearing black-rimmed, wire-framed glasses.

Subject A.
Sitting cross-legged; ball of left foot placed on the crossbar of the chair, toe pointed down. Right leg, approximately one half-way down the calf, is placed on the left thigh, just behind the left knee. Occasionally, the right foot shakes. His back is straight, pivoting from the hips, he leans slightly forward with both elbows on the table.

Eating from a Tupperware-style container, he grips his plastic fork at the farthest end of the handle, so the end disappears within his grasp. His head drops, to almost parallel with the floor, each time he goes to load his fork for another bite.

A quiet voice, barely audible from 7 feet away. Hand gestures are subtle and smooth while talking and eating. Smile fades in and out with changing conversation.


Subject B.

Sitting with both feet on the table’s crossbar, periodically shaking both feet. Both legs are flat on the chair in relatively similar positions. Back straight, vertical or against the back of the chair.

Eating from Styrofoam container, he grips his chopsticks approximately 4/5 the up toward the end, leaving about 1” visible behind his hand. Head drops slightly, mostly eye movement, to load his chopsticks for another bite.

A bit more audible than Subject A, but still too quiet to hear tone and voice inflection. He has a permanent half-smile the entire conversation and most remarks are in response to Subject A’s lead remarks. Very few hand gestures, occasionally sitting on his hands.

6 comments:

AdamsCB said...

Very dry. No flowing content what-so-ever. More like a snapshot than a situational observation.

TheJeanettery said...

Interesting...its almost a comparative observation of the two men and their characteristics that define each as an individual.

Your use of detail is immaculate. You're very precise in letting us know exactly how you see it.

If anything I would want a more conclusive ending. Even if it were just one sentence.

Berrett said...

It seems very much like a scientific observation and evaluation. If that's what you're shooting for you did a very good job. It adds a sense of dry humor to everything. Very nice.

AdamsCB said...

Preposition usage - "sitting in," rather than "sitting on."

Kurt said...

Wow. Talk about detailed. I think I've seen these two before.
You're right. It was more of a snapshot but accomplished what the assignment called for. My only suggestion is that, if I didn't go to school here, I wouldn't know what the Union cafeteria was and would wonder more about what kind of place this was. Maybe just point out that it's a college cafeteria.

kevlar said...

I liked the comparative style of the two characters. The separation of the descriptions makes me feel that while these two were eating and conversing together that they were very separate people. The interaction between them seems casual and somewhat uninvolved. What about their environment? Was it distracting, could it have kept them from having a more involved conversation? Good detail.