I once was advised to take out my earbuds when I go from place to place to observe the world and conversations around me to help stimulate my writing process. I always knew that was useful advice, but I like listening to podcasts as I walk, so I assumed that whatever benefit of being observant was minor enough that it didn’t warrant me changing my routine.
Yet sometimes I wonder: How much is there to gain by observing?
This Saturday, I met my friend at Murphy’s. We sat at a table close to the windows, but not so close that we were pressed up against them. The server took a while to get to our table, so my friend and I chatted about our mornings and what we were going to do that night. Then, suddenly, a group of boys storm into the restaurant and to the host. “You overcharged us,” they claimed.
Such a hostile interaction is uncommon here in Hanover, so my friend and I went silent. What was going on? “We paid for six drinks and only got four.” The host shook her head, or at least I assumed, considering I was facing away from her. “You got kicked out because your friend was too drunk, so that’s why you didn’t get your drinks,” she said.
Thus ensued one of the most uncomfortable conversations I have ever listened to. It lasted five minutes, and instead of ignoring it, my friend and I simply listened.
You could call this eavesdropping, but considering that I’m writing about it right now, clearly it had an impact.
This week in Mirror, one earbuds-less writer observes the sounds of campus. Another looks behind the hustle-and-bustle at Han Fusion. One senior writer reflects on what different study spaces mean to her and another writer sits in on a band rehearsal. And Eli and I return to our Freak of the Week column, where we weigh in on a heated topic: Trips-cest.
