Project 1-Sharmaine Dais

Walking into the South Seaport Mall, my initial reaction was that of a tranquil amazement. I was wondering "how can a mall have such beautiful scenery? It was quite unique." There were even small stores outside the mall. After a brief tour of each store, I decided to sit in what appeared to be a food court and to flaneur.

Upon sitting I noticed a variety of things, the hustle and bustle of those around me, the special sale items that people rushed to like a herd of cattle, the very careful color coordinated sections of clothing and jewelry in some of the stores. Clearly, the employees had spent a lot of time organizing this. The food court was a non-traditional one. It'll looked as though a few stores were just dropped from the sky and placed there. There are a variety of smells, some of pizza and some of burgers.

Although the people around me were "hustling," their dance was very different from the one I was used to seeing at the Manhattan Mall. Everyone seemed to be calm and patient and at the Manhattan Mall, that just doesn't happen. I wasn't concerned about if the little girls' ice cream would spill on that lady who moving swiftly toward her. The group of teenagers in the food court didn't pose much of a threat either. They weren't like the loquacious teens of the inner city. Everyone seemed to play there own role here, and each fit perfectly.

I decided to get up for a moment to use the bathroom. When I got there, there was a older lady inside who appeared to be homeless. She had a large shopping cart with umbrellas, coats, a hammer, and some other objects I couldn't identify without staring. This lady reeked of funk but everyone acted as no one noticed. After using the bathroom, I came out and she was still there, this time she was taking a full shower in the sink. Still no one said anything. I began to wonder about this. In times square or somewhere else, this woman who have been scorned for her behavior and sadly her situation. No one seems to care about the homeless. These people didn't seem to be bothered by the woman's actions at all.

Walking out of the mall and sitting by the water, I began writing this paper. I reflected on the grandness of the city we live in. Although strangers to one another, we all act interchangeably as one unit. From the pedestrians crossing the street to the bathroom attendant who allowed the homeless woman to clean herself, we are all an active part of what city life is all about.