A Great Adventure

In class today, we were asked to partake in a writing assignment that we would post on our blog.  Today’s class was about journalism and for our assignment, we were asked to partake in Participant Observation.  We left class for 45 minutes and were told to go out, observe, and interact with the activities of Providence College at 9:30 on Wednesday morning.  This is the journey of my encounters as I left the classroom that fateful morning:

I walked out of the classroom and into the long corridor of classrooms.  I knew I was about to embark on a great adventure, despite knowing that the actions themselves would be quite mediocre.  I was quite hungry because I had not eaten breakfast before coming to class, so I was quite grateful for the extra-long break that we had been given.  However, before I went off on that adventure, I figured that I would go and check my mail.  On my way down the stairs, I took notice of the posters in the stairwell that I saw every day.  I did not linger because the posters do not change significantly enough for me to have to stop and read them.  When I did make it to the mail room, I only received partial disappointment, because although I did not receive mail like people always hope when they walk in, I was not actually expecting any.

On my way out of the school, I carried my bag and my sweater, but I quickly realized that I should have actually worn my sweater, because the temperature of the air was a little bit too chilly for my liking.  As I entered the Student Life Center, I placed my bag and my sweater down on the floor so that I could go for breakfast (yum, breakfast!)  I noticed that a lot of my classmates were already in the Student Life Center (makes sense as I was the last one to leave the classroom).  I observed them observing.  Again, I did not linger because I was craving the morning sustenance of breakfast.

I checked my name of the list, and headed to my first stop: beverages!  Enthusiastically grabbing two cups, I filled one up with milk and one up with orange juice.  There is just something about orange juice to me that just says “breakfast”.  Before I was able to get a tray and head over to the foods, I was confronted by Allan, a friend of mine, and he asked me why I wasn’t in class.  I retaliated by saying that I was on my break.  (There was not actually a conflict.  He just asked a simple question, because of a logical confusion.)  After that, I had my eye on making a waffle, so I made a waffle.  Gathering the necessary things needed to eat the waffle while I let it cook for the two minutes needed (like cutlery, a plate, the tray, packets of butter, and syrup), I anticipated my first bite. 

My waffle was done and I went down and sat down with some people, two of which were also partaking in the same assignment that I was doing, Andrew and Clint.  Other people I sat beside were Miriam Gadreau, Jessica (my girlfriend) and the aforementioned Allan.  Conversation ensued, to the point where we were talking about what kind of German words that people around the table knew.  Since there were a number of German ancestry people at the table (two in particular that I am related to, Allan and Andrew Bergen), there were quite a few words, although none of us were anywhere close to fluent. 

Now that the plate in front of me was vacant (except for the syrup, but I decided not to slurp that up),  I decided it was time to vacate the table and exit the premises and go in search of other adventures.  Turns out, it was almost time to head back to class anyway, so my path was clear.  I headed back to class with my stomach no longer growling and empty and my sense of adventure stimulated but also satisfied.

If you think that my story was rather mediocre and over-hyped, I recommend that you try going on a similar adventure yourself.  On the surface it might seem like nothing special, but it is more action-packed and exciting than you realize. 


Quote of the day:
Success usually comes to those who are too busy to be looking for it.
   -Henry David Thoreau (1817 - 1862)-


Word of the day: foofaraw:
\FOO-fuh-raw\ , noun:
1. Excessive or flashy ornamentation or decoration.
2. A fuss over a matter of little importance.