bears den

The dining room hums with the buzz of conversation.  The sharp smell of fresh brewed coffee spills over into the dining area.  My stomach churns as the aroma of foods cooking blend together to permeate the food court.  The grill spits as burgers and other foods are tossed onto the heated burner, while the deep fryer bubbles like a volcano waiting to erupt as the french fries cook to temperature.  The different smells melt together, and with the variety so various, it’s difficult to determine their true source.  Instead the many scents take on one overall aroma that lingers with me until I leave the building later that day.  The constant hustle and bustle of people constantly coming and going creates a dull murmur that fades into the background noise.

fieldworking

So far this week, I've been able to visit my site three times already. Each time I've brought a notbook to take notes and record my observations. I made sure to describe important characteristics in great detail to help me later on when I write my paper. I tried to split up my fieldworking site into sections and record each data set seperatly.( i.e. The outside grounds, floorplan, colorscheme, sights and smells, decoration, dining area, food court, and the kitchen.) After each visit it helps to type out the basic framework i hope to incorperate into my paper. And this helps later on when it's time to bring them all together and revise and edit as well.

In the next two weeks, I hope to visit my fieldworking site atleast three times in the next two weeks, in order to attain enough information to begin drafting a rough copy and layout for the next essay. In each visit I will focus on a different aspect of the resturaunt; dining room, food service lines, and the kitchen to encorperate all aspects of the operation into my observation.

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For my ephnography topic I chose to study the culture of resturaunt operation, and more specifically Sodexo food company. I know that Sodexo is a wide spread organization with resturaunt locations all across
Massachusetts. They employ a large amount of students and community members from diverse backgrounds with many diufferent responsibilities. There are many positions available in food service; from dishwashing, serving, cooking, cleaning, and baking to supervising and manageing.

I have many questions about resturaunt culture, do they have unions? whats the employees attitude about their employers? as well as customer satisfaction and opinions. I wonder if they pay above minimum wage? give employees work breaks? benefits? or vacation time. or if they allow them to eat during their shifts for free. What is the dining atmosphere like? mood, sounds, music, smells, and sights. I also wonder how members of the staff work together to allow a smooth enjoyable dining experience.