Ethnopoetics

In class the other day, we got to analyze our interview transcripts in a unique way. We read through them and found important things that they said. We then condensed what they said, and formatted it into a poem. Therefore we really got to the core point they made in the interview. I did this with my interview with Katie. Here is my poem:

People that are visiting in
the fall and spring
are the people that live
in Southie
And then in the summer
you have
everybody

It's a popular
known place
It's kind of
wide open
There's a lot
going on there

There is usually a
line to the curb
It's just
very chaotic with
all the families there

Ideas

I met with my professor, Dr. Cook today. We talked about interesting aspects of my interview and developed ideas to possibly talk about in my paper. One was the difference of Sullies between summer and fall/spring. I may even divide up my paper on this concept. The other is the involvement of the owners, which is rare is business today. Dr. Cook wrote this ideas down on a index card to keep handy. I uploaded the index card for myself and all you guys to look at!

Interview

So I completed my first interview last week! I was lucky because my interviewee was one of my best friends, Katie. She has been an employee at Sullies for several years. Last Wednesday I interviewed Katie at her home in Weymouth, Massachusetts.

Being that Katie is a friend, I was worried how serious she was going to take this interview. Luckily she understood the project, and was extremely corporative and thoughtful. She reiterated some points I had wrote about in previous pieces and enlightened me to some things I did not think about. Although Katie did not give paragraph long answers, she did elaborate on almost every question I asked. I was extremely appreciative of that. Even with your best friends, there are a ton of "um...so...like" and awkward pauses. We both managed to push through those and have an engaging conversation. Half of my questions were based off things Katie said, while the other half were just questions that popped up in my head. When typing up the transcript, i realized there were some great points Katie made that i wish i had asked questions about so she could elaborate. The next interview I will just have to make sure to be more observant while the actual interview is taking place.

Overall, I am extremely pleased with how my interview turned out. I'm proud of Katie for sitting down and being serious and honest with me for 25 minutes. This interview will for sure enhance my paper.

Pictures

When I was talking fieldnotes I took a bunch of photos but never posted them, so here are a bunch of pictures from Sullies and Castle Island!

Updates!

Hey guys! So i haven't really posted in a while so this is just a post to let everyone know what I have been up to. I have completed all my fieldnotes. Observing them really helped me figure out what direction I want to go with with this project. An important aspect of Sullies is that it is located in an irish neighborhood. This was evident when i was observing Sullies and i think that the location of Sullies is important to its success. I dove deeper into this thought with my textual analysis. I found scholarly sources discussing the irish immigration and their settlement in South Boston. the inhabitants of south boston formed a strong community and they are proud of it. I think that is why they are loyal to Sullies and why it is so important. I have also completed my first interview! but i will make a separate blog post about that. All in All everything is coming together. ideas and themes that i want to further pursue and discuss are formulating. I am excited with the direction this project is going!

Mind Map!

Timeline of Sullies

Second Set of fieldnotes

My second set of fieldnotes were somewhat disappointing. I visited Sullies on October 23rd, which was a Wednesday afternoon. I visited around 5:30 pm because I thought that would be a good time to go since many people eat dinner around then. I was wrong. Sullies was almost completely dead. Although there was almost a steady stream of people coming in and out, this is unusual for Sullies, or so I thought. My past experiences with Sullies has been a line going out the door or at least the tables outside filled. Maybe it was not as crowded because it was chilly out? However, even with the option of eating in your car, there still was not the usual large amount of people there. Also, the people that i did observe where somewhat contradictory to my first set of fieldnotes. When i last visited Sullies, the Sunday of Columbus Day weekend i observed many families. I observed little kids with their parents, grandparents, or both. The families were spending time together and the kids were playing freely. on Wednesday, this was not the case. I only saw a few kids. I only saw one little boy on his bike and the rest appeared to be coming form school. The costumers of Sullies this day appeared to be mostly adults coming home from work. I suppose the cliental of Sullies depends on the day of the week, These discrepancies are kind of alarming to me. In my mind, when i picture Sullies i picture my first set of fieldnotes. I never really thought that this might not always be the case. I plan on visiting Sullies again this weekend to observe some more so I can compose the most accurate picture. Although my second set of fieldnotes did not go desirable, it was eyeopening and exposed me to a new layer of Sullies.

Digital Landscape

When exploring the web, I was surprised to find out that Sullies not only has a website, but a twitter and a facebook page. I was not expecting a small, family owned business to be so in touch with technology. I was most impressed by their website. The general set up of it is well done and aesthetically pleasing.  It is simple and the different tabs to click on are clear. I am also impressed with the content of the website. They list the full menu and the prices. They also have a merchandise section and a contact section. The website has a few unique sections which I think make it special. They have a “memory lane” section where customers can write down their favorite memories and a few are posted. I think this really helps demonstrate how Sullies is a family place and generations of families go there. They also have an “about” section which gives a brief history of the place and instructions on how to order.  Lastly there is a “Castle Island” section which explains the area upon which Sullies is located. The website is completely user friendly and inviting. The website is littered with pictures of the building, the food, and the surrounding area. There was also quite a few old black&white photos which I found particularly interesting since I am curious about the history of Sullies. The facebook and twitter pages are a slightly different story. The twitter page has a simple green background and their avatar is of the building. The twitter is filled with different promotions of theirs. Most recently a children’s Halloween costume event coming up soon and Sullies has been giving away Bruin’s tickets. The facebook is an extension of that. The facebook page post the promotions as long as random pictures and updates. Their cover photo is an oldschool picture of Sullies, but the building looks nothing like the current building. This only makes me more curious about the history of Sullies. The fact that sullies runs so many promotions shows how big of a part of the community they are. All this digital output demonstrates how important the customers are to Sullies. They create an inviting atmosphere to new and old visitors.

Putting Things in Perspective 2

After reading my first post about perspective I realized, with help from my professor, that the post may have been unclear and almost off topic. So why not just start completely fresh.

My name is Shannon McCarthy, I am 18 years old, and I am from Randolph, Massachusetts. Randolph is a fairly large town located about 15 minutes south of Boston. My fieldsite, Sullies, is located in an area of Boston known as "Southie". It is called Southie because it is the south region of Boston. Both my parents grew up in Boston which is why I also constantly visited the city, and Sullies, throughout my life. This is one of my first perspectives. Although I live close to Boston and am frequently there, I am not actually from this city. Will I view Sullies slightly different since I am not from Southie? Will I miss objects or people that are common to the locals?

Every time I go to Sullies, I order a hot dog, french fries, and a frappe. I've honestly never ordered anything else from there except a hamburger. I don't think I can even tell you all the food they offer. I know they have ice cream, chicken sandwiches, fish and chips, and clam chowder as well. This may seem weird that I don't even know the menu of a place I am studying, however it is actually pretty normal. Almost everyone, or at least that I've seen, just orders the basic fries and hamburger/hotdog combo. Sullies is just a quick grab and go place, so nobody orders anything of real substance. However, maybe my perspective of this is totally off. Do customers at Sullies order diverse things off the menu and I just have not noticed? Am I missing a whole other aspect of Sullies?

Sullies is a place that is open to everyone. The food there is cheap. For example, last time I went there and ordered my usual hotdog with ketchup, large fry, and large chocolate and vanilla milkshake it only cost me like $7. Families can get a cheap dinner there, and although it is not the best quality food or healthy, it is much better than McDonald's or other fast food joints. I hope this will help me be exposed to a wide variety of people when I visit. I'm excited to take my second set of fieldnotes this week!

Fieldnotes Analysis

I actually really enjoyed taking my first set of fieldnotes! I was a little worried when I first arrived at Sullies. I was afraid I would not noticed important things or I would not observe enough going on around me. But at the same time I did not want to be focused on how many pages of notes I have written. Thankfully, taking the fieldnotes came pretty natural to me. I immediately sat down and just started writing. Bottom line, what I observed was that nobody else was observing. Like here I am, a weirdo writing in a notebook by herself at a table, and nobody even gave me a second glance. Most people were too preoccupied with their families, which is a positive thing. I never noticed that it was predominately young families visiting Sullies. I figure this is due to Sullies being located in the city. Kids have no backyards to play in so families go to Sullies to grab a quick bite to eat before playing in the park next-door. It made me happy that families were actually enjoying time together outside, not blocked off in their houses with mounds of technology. I feel like this is, unfortunately, a rarity in today's society. Another reason why people were not observing was because they were not staying long. Many got their food, sat down at the first bench, ate, then left. Others just brought their food directly to their car. I guess this is what happens at a take out food place. I was still slightly surprised at the lack of lingering going on. Most of the time, when people left they were going for a walk around the park. I feel like Sullies is a special place. When people go their they actually enjoy the food, enjoy each other's company, and enjoy the land which it is located on. This makes me happy and appreciative that Sullies exists. I enjoyed viewing Sullies from a different perspective than normally and it really made me see common things I never noticed on my million other visits. I'm interested to see if i make the same observations during the next set of fieldnotes.

Putting things in Perspective

I am 18 years old and from Randolph, Massachusetts. This is a fairly large town and the most culturally diverse town in Massachusetts. Growing up here was an awesome experience because, from an early age, I was exposed to a wide range of people and cultures. I am very aware and accustomed to almost all subcultures. It was so cool being in a classroom and almost every student being a different race. Being that Randolph is only 15 minutes away from Boston, and both my parents are from the city, I spend a lot of my time there. All cities are a melting pot of different cultures and traditions. Whatever I did not experience in Randolph, I could certainty experience in Boston. I am grateful for my parents bringing me to the city from an early age. In no way was I sheltered or naive and was exposed to all types of people, the good and the bad. Although I am about as white and as Irish as they come, I am in no way ignorant.

As open as my eyes are, it is hard to be completely objective in life. I am aware that I may still hold a few stereotypes and conceptions in my head when observing my field site, Sullies. I am also afraid people at Sullies may have some stereotypes about me as well. Although I have been going to Sullies my whole life and spent much of my time in Boston, I am not actually from there. People from Boston and especially Southie where Sullies is located, can be territorial and not like outsiders. However this is just a minor concern of mine because I have never experienced any problems. My open perspective on life will be extremely helpful throughout this project.

About this blog.

This blog will be following my fieldwork project of Sullivan's take out restaurant in Boston, Massachusetts. In the weeks to come, I will be posting my findings and observations I make on this journey throughout the semester. 

All I know about Sullivan’s is what I see. I know where it is located, on any decent day it is packed, they sell good food at a cheap price, and I know they scream out your order number as you run up to get your food in a cardboard box. Sullies, as everyone refers to it as, is a tiny gem in South Boston, Massachusetts. All types of people and families in and around Boston treasure this take out food joint. However few of these people, myself included, know anything beneath the surface of Sullies. The simplest things like who shortened Sullivan’s to Sullies, to the unique location, and the special traditions are mysteries to us. I find it strange that so little is known about something so important to the city. It is almost like sullies just appeared there and everyone in Boston knew to congregate to it. I am hoping that answering these questions will help me better understand why sullies is so important to the people who go there. I want to understand how Sullies became a landmark and how the traditions started. My goal during this fieldwork project is to unearth the history behind Sullies.

 Sullies has always been a special place to me. It is located on Castle Island, which is a gathering place for everyone and as long as I can remember, my family has been going here. I love sitting there people watching while eating my hotdog, fries, and frappe. Families are having picnics, kids are riding bikes, couples are walking their dog, and people are constantly jogging around the peninsula which Sullies rest upon. Not to mention the windsurfers and boats in the water and the planes looking like they will land on you considering Logan Airport is next to it. If you want a true and accurate representation of Boston, Sullies is the place to visit. Therefore, a better understanding of Sullies means a better understanding of Boston.