As my vast sociological knowledge grows, I find that it's when one isn't looking that the crazy sociology stuff happens. Since we started covering the kinds of culture, for example, I've noticed that the mores and folkways we have established are inescapable.
This past Thursday afternoon, I was staying after school in the point waiting for a ride. Now I don't really like those chairs and the floor is too filthy to comprehend(or is it?)so I sat on the table. That was all good and comfy too. But then a security guard asked me to get down and sit on a chair. Now the nonconformist in me said make a HUGE fuss, but the other part of me said it wasn't worth it so I kept my dignity and just let it go. In retrospect, I wonder why people don't sit on tables or other pieces of furniture even when the table is really quite functional. It's not as if the table was in danger, it was built to hold weight about my level and I wasn't sitting in a bad place to distribute it. Maybe the table is a place of eating and not one of placing things other than the upper body? Or maybe it resembles a masoleum too much and everybody avoids bringing death to the table?(The many Asian cultures that use chopsticks generally avoid sticking them straight up in their dish as it resembles the incense placed at temples and funerals). I can't say for sure, but it does irritate me that I can't have a nice seat just because of some sociological perception of what a table is for. It really limits the potential of the table too, it's like saying a light bulb is just for light when it can also be used to generate a rather decent amount of heat! So while this non-material culture may be something we grow up with and are imprisoned by, I think if we try and break free of it we can find ourselves some more comfortable seats as just a minor effect. I also went to Mitsuwa, a Japanese market place, and a Korean grocery store this weekend(I went to a Chinese one last weekend, and don't know if a Vietnamese one is around to go to), so I might blog about that eventually. It was interesting and there was some culture shock, but not sure what to make of it sociologically yet.
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Remember - those sec guards are a part of the culture too and they have learned norms just as you have. But it is very interesting when you can look at life from outside the box (or at least outside the culture) :-)
Mitsuwa - cool find. VERY authentic. I feel like I am back in Japan when I am there.
There is a great Vietnamese neighborhood down in the city in Uptown. It is at Argyle and Sheridan (just north of lawrence). There is a vietnamese grocers, restaurants, churches, etc... It is right off the Red line El. You can park in skokie and take the train there.
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