Tuesday, September 30, 2014

People Watching

Location: A Jewish Resturant in Ohio

1.) There is a family of four sitting at the table across from us 
*The family consists of a mother, a father, and two sons.
*The two sons ate Asian dishes while the mother had pita bread and hummus and the father ate a Jewish noodle dish.
*One son seems to be a teenager while the other looks like he is around the age of eight or nine.
*The family talks while they eat and seem very energetic and joyful.

2.) The table next to us sat four men who seemed to be around thirty or forty years of age.
*They were all wearing blue jeans and knit sweaters.
*When they walked into the restaurant, they made a lot of noise and seemed very confidant and excited to be eating.
*When they walked in, one man grabbed a menu and they rapidly looked through it before sitting down.

3.) Our waiter was African American who seemed to be in his late twenties or early thirties.
*He was wearing tight blue jeans with a flannel shirt.
*He wore glasses.
*He was very friendly and enthusiastic about his job.

Interpretations:
1.) When I saw the Jewish family eating together, I immediately made the assumption that their dinner would be on the strict side.  Growing up in the city, I was only about 5 minutes away from a very heavily Jewish populated part of Pittsburgh.  When I would see them walking around, I automatically assumed that they were very religiously strict.  This stereotype proved to be untrue after I saw the family at dinner laughing and talking about subjects such as sports games and what they were going to do the next day.

2.) When they first walked in, the men seemed to feel very confidant at the restaurant. It seemed like they were regulars by the way they walked in and grabbed a menu and seated themselves.

3.) My first impression of our waiter was how friendly and enthusiastic he was about his job.  Honestly, I did not expect to see an African American waiter working at a Jewish resturant.  He seemed confidant and may be looked at as a "hipster" because of the glasses and skinny jeans that he was wearing.  Stereotypically, I would not expect to encounter an African American practicing the Jewish religion.

Reflection:
Before arriving to the restaurant, I expected the menu to consist of all traditional Jewish food but I was pleasantly surprised to find things such as burgers and fries on the menu.  I realized when I was there how fast I judged not only the restaurant but the people and the food there.  I was expecting to walk in and find many traditional Jewish families eating their meals in a reserved and quiet environment.  What I found was a restaurant full of laid back and talkative people enjoying the presence of their families and friends.  It was refreshing to see that the stereotypes I had assumed before arriving to the restaurant proved to be completely wrong.  When dealing with children, it is easy to classify them or base your opinion of them off of a wrong first impression.  This dinner taught me to keep an open mind and not to form wrong opinions.  I believe that every child deserves a chance and as a teacher, I never want to make a wrong judgement about someone or their lives before walking a mile in their shoes.  

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