[Last modified: October, 30 2024 06:44 PM]
On the morning of 25 October 2024, I went to Gordon Square for my mini field work, through observing people there and their activities. And now I am going to organise my field notes into one piece.
It was cloudy but not cold in the park that morning. It was relatively bright, hence a good place for spending some leisure time. Due to the arrival of cold weather, the leaves were turning yellow and red, immersing the park with the colour of autumn.
When I first arrived, I noticed the pretty coffee shop near one of the entrances of the park. It gives a warm, busy and friendly atmosphere and fits naturally into the environment. I decided to get a cup of hot chocolate with oat milk. And whilst I was waiting, I was greeted by one of my Environmental Anthropology colleagues. And soon another colleague showed up in the same park. Reflecting on the coincidence, there might be some interesting significance of Gordon Square to us EA students. It almost is the go-to place for us to eat lunch, have outdoor gatherings, and even practice our ethnographic skills.
The park was very quiet, separating itself from the noises outside. There were people talking, but not loud at all. Everyone was able to enjoy the peacefulness, whatever activity they were doing. I was sat at a table part of the coffee shop. And there are people nearby working on their computers. There was one man sitting at the adjacent table and he was just looking at the plants and surroundings from distance and taking a break from any activities.
There are always people walking by, through the garden to the other side of the road. I wonder if people prefer walking inside the park in order to spend some moment with nature.
There are quite some UCL-student-looking people at the park. And some of them were having their lunch together whilst talking about their courses and lives. It was interesting to see people from different cultures communicate with each other in this little green space in London.
The interconnectedness can also be found in people’s relationship with internet. In such a small geographic unit, one can easily tell the impacts of globalisation and digitalisation on individuals. Whilst sitting in a peaceful park on an autumn morning, some people were accessing information from and about places from afar.
One of my colleagues asked what language the name of the coffee ‘kiosk’ is. This was an interesting note. I wonder what the coffee shop means to each of the individuals that were there. Did people come to the park for the coffee or is it because of coming to the park that some then decided to have coffee.