Mirasol's Observation

My practice observation took place at a small cafe on Route 6 in Dartmouth, MA called Mirasol's. Mirasol's has become more popular over the past few years attracting a lot of young people. I walked into the cafe and grabbed myself a Chippi (Mirasol's version of an iced coffee) and sat in the corner watching people walk in and out. I tried to look as least creepy as I possibly could. It didn't take long to understand the overall culture of Mirasol's. Above the doorway there was a freaky looking statue of the head of a horse. While across the room (where I sat) there were two leather chairs that were right next to a rustic bench with red throw pillows. The other side of the room had the same set up except the chair had an interesting quilt on it, the quilt looked as if it were from a Latin country. The weirdest part of the whole cafe was the bathroom. There was a bar stool randomly placed in the corner and above the toilet was a 1960's movie poster. As I looked at the poster I thought to myself "this is a hipster's heaven."

The people who came to the cafe only confirmed my belief that this is a hipster's paradise. I saw about 400 different types of fedoras and enough guys with mustaches to make Steve Harvey blush. Most people that came, came in groups of two or more. They all grabbed their Chippis and sat at either a table or on one of the multiple couches. The only people that bought their Chippis and left immediately were people that came by themselves. People that came by themselves and decided to stay spent most of their time on their laptops doing what seemed to be homework, which isn't surprising considering Mirasol's is only a mile from UMass Dartmouth. The other people who came alone decided to sit in the corner and creepily take notes about everyone that passed them, oh wait that was just me.

The interactions between groups was minimal. Just like any other restaurant everyone stayed with their group and talked to them and them only. There were three guys sitting on the bench next to me who were having an in depth conversation about how the public needs to realize the Illuminati's importance (not an uncommon hipster topic). A little further away there was a girl and a guy enjoying their wraps, I think they were on date. At the table across from them it looked as if a woman was interviewing a younger girl, possibly for a job opening. Other than that most people just enjoyed their Chippi, and if they're smart one of Mirasol's amazing sandwiches, and then made their way to the exit.