Savannah's River Street: Observation Study

For my brief observational study, I have chosen my favorite bench, which is slap in the middle of historic Savannah’s River Street, located in Savannah, Georgia. This busy street can awaken one’s self-reflections, inductive reasoning and gives personal meaning of ethnography, which is also called “naturalistic because it describes the natural social world as it really is” (Chambliss and Schutt, 2016, p. 202). Consequentially, as I step onto the inscribed bricks of River Street, I am reminded of the influence of imagery in sacred places. For instance, the stained glass windows and converted antique shops, boutiques, galleries, pubs and restaurants connect its visitors to its oral history. As I walk to my favorite bench by the river, I can

But, I will try to provide a pictorial sense of what is it is like on one of the busiest ports in the United States. Numerous tourists visit from around the world and River Street is travelled by those visitors. Specifically, according to city officials more than 300,000 people will descend the borders of Savannah, Georgia and River Street for its annual St. Patrick’s Day celebrations which is fast approaching. The greenery amid all the businesses and historic houses in the midst of a vast sea of people makes River Street such a unique place. On any given day or hour, for that matter, you can find vast amounts of people; both young and old, who are taking part in the clandestine aura absorbed by an overwhelming flood to one’s five senses. The artists and their easels remind me of Paris. The artists creative process which flows along with the river bank. A process so foreign to those who cannot exhibit their immense creativity is nothing short of a miracle. These artists demonstrate a fantastic flare of developing charcoal, caricatures, and landscapes paintings show people their perspective of the world. However, for me, the most magical place on River Street is its broad view of the Savannah River. If you are quiet enough, you can disappear into the constant moving crowd. In fact, people stop even noticing you are

Pondering that made me want to think and observe, and take it all in. I asked myself, "Are they male or female prints" I laughed because the last time I had Dr. E., I was asked what I learned from the course material. Now, I do not have to rack my brain because this assignment awakens the natural answer-I learned to observe by participating in my observational study. That said; as I sat, my attention is drawn to the young girl with pink hair who seem to be more drawn to a drawing with various colors. I asked myself, "Is her choice a reflection of her personality?" For me, the black and white drawing forced your eyes to the surface. On the surface, you feel the drama when you look at the people. The amount of them, their facial gestures, and their body language instills its viewers the intensity of conversations. So, as I took notes, I wondered am I noticing the large crowd of people surrounding the guy playing music with spoons. I am wondering when exactly when and how my attention got diverted. Nevertheless, as I noticed the perplexed looks on many faces, my brain became scrambled. I did another quick scan then decided it would be necessary to re-read "What are qualitative methods" (Chambliss and Schutt, 2016). After rereading, I understood I had to design my focus on "unanticipated phenomena"