BlogPost 3

                  I always people watch. Whether it be assigned (as in this case), at the mall waiting for my family to finish shopping, at an airport waiting on my flight, at Cedar Point waiting on a ride, etc. I find myself people watching often, and I honestly enjoy it. Therefore, when this acivity was assigned I looked forward to it. Little did I know, the way I would end up people watching would be stranded at Heinen’s. My friend Liz and I took the “Do the Loop” shuttle on Friday September 11, 2015; the van took us to the Green Road stop near Heinen’s. Across the street is a plaza filled with restaurants, bakeries, clothing boutiques, and (the reason we were there) Jamaican Me Tan—a tanning salon. In the pouring rain, Liz and I ran across the street to the salon and tanned. When we were finished we stopped at Heinen’s. We had time to kill, because the shuttle was not going to be back for awhile and we needed groceries, so it worked out perfectly. After we grocery shopped we stood underneath the covering at Heinen’s waiting for the shuttle. It was chilly out, but at this point we only had about 10 minutes to wait so we stuck it out. The shuttle arrived; Liz and I, in the pouring rain, started walking across Heinen’s parking lot into the lot where John Carroll students have their cars. As we were walking the bus started pulling away. We missed the shuttle. Twice.

                  During the hour we stood out in the wet, cold, and people watched. It obviously was not ideal, but it was a neat experience. Where we stood was directly beside the grocery pick up—where cars come through with a number, and employees load their cars with the groceries that have the matching number. One description I noted was a sleek, black BMW pulled up for their groceries. Unfortunately, my interpretation was that the woman was very snooty. She did not even look the employees in the eyes when she spoke to them, and almost barked orders at them. This instance sounds extremely stereotypical (and it was), but I do not believe that people who have money are always rude. For example, there were plenty of people who came through cheerful and energetic on the rainy, dark Friday afternoon. There were multiple drivers who made conversation with the employees, and even tipped them. Liz and I became friendly with the employees, because we had been standing there waiting for the shuttle for so long. Old women walking into Heinen’s would come up to us, and ask us all about John Carroll (I had a JCU sweatshirt on).

                  Through this experience I realized I can make the best out of a situation. I did not expect to be stranded in the rainy cold that day, but when it happened I remained positive and got my assignment done. I also realized that I would create a story when I people watch. I somewhat judge them, and from that I think of I make a background story for them. I feel like most of the time I have a good read on people. Whether it be people watching or actually meeting them in person, I tend to have pretty good judgment.