It’s 3 o’clock in the afternoon and I find myself in one of the most common coffee shops in the world. Starbucks. This one is located in Valencia, a few minutes away from my house. As I walk towards the doors of Starbucks, I see people walking out with cups that have the green logo of the woman with long hair, and a straw sticking out of the top in their hands. The workers greet me “Welcome to Starbucks” as soon as I step inside. I chose to do my ethnography on Starbucks because it is the place I am at the most.
I make my way to an open table near an outlet to plug my laptop in. I sit down directly across the counter where the cashiers are. As I start up my laptop, I quickly notice Starbucks’ specialty, which is their macchiato with three different kinds of flavors. It is pinned up on their menu in huge letters written in chalk, and a picture of the actual drink itself. All along the wall is the rest of the menu, which is organized by the kinds of drinks they have. Behind their menu are packets of coffee stacked in little boxes. Being a regular customer in this Starbucks, I have never noticed the coffee packets until now.
When I first got here, there were only a few people sitting on the tables. Now that it is past 3 o’clock, and kids and adults are getting out of school and work, Starbucks is getting busier and busier. A girl wearing a skirt walks in, while holding her boyfriend’s hand that is following right behind her. Behind them, walks in an old man with a tucked-in shirt, carrying a bag on his shoulder. They order and move along to the next line where they have to pick up their drinks. To my left, a boy in a green shirt and a girl wearing a red shirt, most likely siblings, sit across each other and both on their phones while they sip on their drinks. Their heads are angled down and their eyes are fixed on their phones. Not a single word is spoken from the both of them. And behind them, is an old man talking on his phone loudly, while his eyes move rapidly across the screen of his laptop. Looking back at the front of the store, the baristas are hard at work. Three of them are working on drinks, two at the cash registers taking customer’s orders, and one towards the back taking orders from their drive-thru.
Each time I look up and away from my laptop, a different person walks past me to exit the store. What’s so great about this place is that there are a wide variety of people, and most of them are very kind. Although this place can be loud from the conversations of individuals, and the mixing of drinks being made behind the counter, it is very peaceful for me and it helps me focus on the things I need to get done.
When I first got here, there were only a few people sitting on the tables. Now that it is past 3 o’clock, and kids and adults are getting out of school and work, Starbucks is getting busier and busier. A girl wearing a skirt walks in, while holding her boyfriend’s hand that is following right behind her. Behind them, walks in an old man with a tucked-in shirt, carrying a bag on his shoulder. They order and move along to the next line where they have to pick up their drinks. To my left, a boy in a green shirt and a girl wearing a red shirt, most likely siblings, sit across each other and both on their phones while they sip on their drinks. Their heads are angled down and their eyes are fixed on their phones. Not a single word is spoken from the both of them. And behind them, is an old man talking on his phone loudly, while his eyes move rapidly across the screen of his laptop. Looking back at the front of the store, the baristas are hard at work. Three of them are working on drinks, two at the cash registers taking customer’s orders, and one towards the back taking orders from their drive-thru.
Each time I look up and away from my laptop, a different person walks past me to exit the store. What’s so great about this place is that there are a wide variety of people, and most of them are very kind. Although this place can be loud from the conversations of individuals, and the mixing of drinks being made behind the counter, it is very peaceful for me and it helps me focus on the things I need to get done.
Kristen Jannelle Santos is a freshman at the California State University of Northridge. She is studying to be a nurse in the future, and she loves to spend time with her family and friends.