On the fifteenth of April, our group conducted its second ethnographic survey on Brooklyn’s Brighton Beach. During this second trip, we decided to divide the five ethnographic senses between the members of the group so that we would have a narrower, more focused analysis of the five senses. Each member was made to center his survey on two of the five senses. I was given the opportunity to focus on the senses of taste and touch. The two climates experienced in the two ethnographic trips, the first on the fourth of March and the second on the aforementioned date, were incredibly disparate. Temperatures were warm but comfortable, ranging from sixty-four to fifty-nine degree Fahrenheit. This abrupt shift in climate made for a second trip that encompassed a series of experiences that were almost entirely distinct from those of the first trip. Perhaps the most prominent cause for this change in experiences was the larger number of people in the outdoors. We began our survey at approximately 9:30 AM at the Brighton Beach boardwalk.
Immediately upon entering the boardwalk, I noticed that the small restaurants, ice cream venders, and carnival food venders that line the outer perimeter of the Brighton Beach boardwalk had now opened up for business. These locales had been closed during our first visit to the beach. Lines ranging from approximately 20 to 5 people stood situated in front of each of these venders. These numbers shifted marginally within the hour that we had spent on the boardwalk. As one individual left a line, another individual seemed to join the very same line. The constant composition of these lines are most notably caused by the heat experienced throughout the day. Patrons attempt to quench their thirst with chilled waters and attempt to alleviate the overbearing warmth of the beach by purchasing ice cream or shaved ice. Of the six or so individuals we saw in the Brighton Beach boardwalk on the first survey date, approximately five had been seen carrying coffee. No individuals were seen purchasing or drinking coffee on this day. This observation is notable in that we had visited the same locale at approximately the same time in both field survey dates. The vast number of individuals seen on the Brighton Beach boardwalk and shoreline are almost unquantifiable, seemingly in the hundreds. Many individuals had taken to exercising on both the shoreline and boardwalk of the beach. Of these individuals, roughly seven or so were seen carrying a sport drink of some kind. These sports drinks ranged from Gatorades to water diluted with PowerAde powder mix. These drinks were most likely of necessity in order to starve off dehydration.
A number of restaurants had chosen to set up portions of their tables on the outside of their restaurants. Tatiana Grill and Café Restaurant Volna were two establishments that had chosen to table in such a way. Customers of these restaurants were seen eating myriad dishes of Russian origin. One dish in particular featured cross-cut deep fried potatoes served with grilled chicken garnished with brown sauce, cumin, and mint. The majority of these patrons were seen drinking water with a select few opting for soda or alcohol.
During this day, I had chosen to sample two foods. The first food, cotton candy, was purchased in the Brighton Beach boardwalk and was shared between Asad and myself. This cotton candy, in particular, featured a distinguishing taste. The candy tasted of two fruits: strawberry for the pink-dyed floss and blueberry for the blue-dyed floss. Typically cotton candy floss is generically sweet and unparticular in taste. The candy itself was flossed in a way that it would melt upon entering my mouth. The candy had taken to becoming sticky soon after it had been purchased. Perhaps the candy was old. The candy was hung from a white cord in a shop that had dealt with selling lobster sandwiches. The second of these two foods was piroshki. On the first field date, I had purchased a meat piroshki. I felt the need to purchase a cabbage piroshki because I believed that it would contain a different flavor palate from its meat counterpart. Instantly upon biting down through the piroshki’s dough, I sense a shift in texture. While the meat piroshki had been dry, seemingly rough in texture the cabbage of this piroshki had been creamy, seemingly smooth. The dough of this piroshki was similar in every regard to the other, but the taste of cabbage had overwhelmed the taste of the dough instead of the opposite. This piroshki was preferable to that of the meat.
The sense of touch was surveyed exclusively on the boardwalk and and shoreline of Brighton Beach. The sands of the beach were coarse and grainy, yet seemingly compacted. Most individuals who run on sand are seen to sink from step to step. During this day, the runners were seen to run in such a manner that they were able to maintain a particular cadence, a cadence devoid of sinking and slipping. In certain parts of the shoreline, large tire tracks were seen starting from approximately twenty feet away from the body of water and ending five feet away from the boardwalk. Compaction was at its greatest at these locations. These tire tracks had created an nonuniform walking terrain. Beach patrons were not seen in these parts of the beach. This is most probably caused by the difficulty in walking imposed by these tracks.
The boardwalk is almost entirely uniform in makeup. This boardwalk is composed of large wooden slabs that have been placed adjacent to one another. The slabs are distanced one inch from another. These slabs are rough to the touch and irritating to the skin. Certain slabs have experienced large degrees of wear. It is at these slabs that the uniform boardwalk becomes sloped. A large number of beach patrons are seen stumping their feet at these points. At certain locations, parts of these wooden slabs are missing. None other than orange traffic cones are placed in these locations to prevent patron injury. A large section of wood, seemingly 3 slabs in length had been undergoing construction in the middle portion of the mile-long boardwalk.
Metal borders, with frames composed of three rods, line the boardwalk. These borders are both smooth and cold to the touch. A large degree of static is generated once an individual moves across the wooden boardwalk and immediately touches the metal barrier.
We concluded our survey at roughly 2:00 PM. The length of the survey was approximately an hour and thirty minutes longer than our previous survey.
~Robin
