hmmm…..
Probably one of my most favorite things to do in the whole wide world is people watch. Airports and malls are the best places. You can plop down anywhere and eavesdrop to your little heart’s content. I love to watch people interacting and then make up stories about their circumstances and their lives.
Let’s say there’s a man and a woman in an airport in Chicago in the middle of winter. They have on light weight t-shirts and blue jeans. First of all, are they together or do they just happen to be sitting next to each other? Are they going to some exotic tropical place on vacation? Maybe they are … maybe they are on their honeymoon. But then again, maybe they are going to Milwaukee and they just have their winter coats packed away. Perhaps they just like to be comfortable and unencumbered on the plane.
I went to my first Doctor of Ministry class at an Austin seminary yesterday. The class consists of seven ordained ministers, so we got to know each other a little by telling stories about our churches. This week we are learning about a big word “ethnography” which is simply put people watching. Well, its people, places and things watching, but you get the idea.
Our assignment for the evening was to go to a coffee house near the campus and people watch, I mean, do an ethnographic study. It wasn’t nearly as fun as an airport or a mall but it was good practice. I saw lots of UT students and they were mostly involved with their laptops. So much for groovy stories about interesting people. I personally think my congregation is far more interesting … but then, maybe that’s the point.
hmmm…..
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