[Last modified: October, 13 2024 11:01 PM]
The weather on that day was so good that everyone could enjoy the warm sunshine and the breezing wind. We( digital anthropology students) just sat on the UCL portico and observed the people who went by.
We discussed some problems like the reading pressure every week which surprised me that even the native speakers still felt very stressed when faced with lots of essential reading. We talked about what some concepts and the meanings of courses mean to us. I noticed that sometimes people do not need special reasons to sit there(like UCL PORTICO) aimlessly talking with each other. Communication between people could really alleviate the pressure of every day. And everyone here found it quite awkward to ask people some research questions who went by especially for some deep questions to be delved into.
When talking, sometimes I could feel the smell of sunshine and the sounds of birds and people. Suddenly, a group of children led by a work staff ran over here. They smiled at each other and talked with each other. What is most important, even if they are very young, they still have the senses to build their identities and show their wonderful life experiences by taking photos at the symbolling architecture of UCL.
Then a young Chinese girl with a fancy dress also chose the UCL portico to take her graduation photos. I was very surprised that she wore that dress without any warming actions or equipment just to take her beautiful photos. In such weather, it could be nice to sit under the warming sunshine with coats. To take beautiful photos, she even asked a professional photographer to help her( I observed a girl with a professional camera following her and taking photos). All the efforts were made because she needed those photos to show her identity. Maybe she will upload those photos to INS and XiaoHongShu( Chinese digital platform).
Everything above made me thinking what this project could help to build on my personal project. Just wandering around for almost 45 minutes could mean nothing because we cannot have a cultural immersion just within 45 minutes. All I can observe I think is the relationship between us and the identities we are keen to create. Most people here walked very fast to go to class or just enjoyed their cozy morning. In other words, what I really observed was the daily life of UCL students and people here.
