Home » Uncategorized » Fieldsite Observation Essay #2 Gabriel Gjyla (The Second Sample)

Fieldsite Observation Essay #2 Gabriel Gjyla (The Second Sample)

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                                                                                                                                Gabriel Gjyla

                                                                                                                    Professor von Uhl

                                                                                                                                    21002-C

                                                                                                                                 4/9/2018

                                            The Second Sample

                    “If it isn’t my favorite customer! Come on in, I have a newly arrived sample of cheese straight from Venice that I know you’ll love!” This was the greeting I received when I walked into the meat section of the Arthur Avenue Food Market. As a loyal customer for about eight years, I have had my fair share of experience and adventure in the market. However, this was the first time I went alone, and I was excited and nervous to see how I would be treated differently if there was no parental authority by my side.  Since my most recent visit to the market to buy groceries as well as conduct a field research, I have to say that not much has changed in the market. However, I do feel like I have gained a higher level of respect from the merchants and loyal customers. I have seen this while receiving higher amount of free samples of food to being put in the conversations of lifelong friends of the community, I feel more accepted into this mini community as I have ever been! As I went back to the market for my second observation, I discovered just how welcoming this mini community is to the public and how its loyalty makes the customers keep coming back again and again. It really operates like a second home to me, and I can almost guarantee other customers will say the same.

        Upon my arrival inside the Boiano Foods market stand, I noticed a group of friends that were laughing and just enjoying life. As I introduced myself and asked how they felt about the market, they smiled accordingly. There were five friends, two boys and three girls, and they told me this is a tradition they do during spring break.  The one who spoke to me first was named Adam, and he specifically stated that “ we started this tradition back during our freshmen year, that during our spring break we come here to catch up with each other and crack open a few cold beers.” I was amazed that college students actually came here to relax during their free time. For most of my life, I came here to just get my groceries and leave, but overtime I have grown to acknowledge and talk with some of the cashiers at the merchants. I was confused that this would happen, college students actually hanging out at a market for fun instead of going to the clubs or the mall. As I found out more about them, it made sense why they were so connected to this place.  To start, they were all students at the nearby Fordham University, which is less than 10 minutes from the market on foot. Also, they all grew up within this neighborhood, and one of the friends’ mother used to work as a cashier for one of the merchants. Considering they all wore “Fordham U” hoodies, I assumed that they would come around the neighborhood for a bite in one of the many restaurants, but I never would have thought how big of an impact this market would be for them. It was an eye opening chat because I recognized how people of a similar age group would interact inside the market, instead of just buying items and leaving.

        Because the Easter holiday had just passed, there was still a fresh memory of the celebrations in the market. There was confetti everywhere I looked, from the ground to the top of the stands. Although it would have been seen an unsanitary by other people, I had no problem with the confetti on the ground. I think it is because I am used to seeing that in the merchant stands, whether it being from Easter celebrations or other holidays. As I thought about it, I have been a part of the celebrations for about as long as I can remember. The confetti was colorful land lively, with it being about different shades of white, yellow, and green shapes. There were pictures of the Easter bunny on about every stand, but some of them were welcoming while one seemed threatening because it was next to a sign that said “Fresh Rabbit meat for sale.” That didn’t seem like a good advertisement for the meat stand, but to each their own.  On the counter of the diary products, there were about twenty painted Easter eggs that were on sale, not that I thought anyone would eat after the holiday had already passed. However, to my amazement- I saw a mother go right up to the cashier and buy five of the eggs because of her screaming son. I tried to focus elsewhere, but to no avail. The son had been making a fuss ever since I was looking around the area, possibly because he saw the eggs and wanted it. The thing that surprised me is when the mother said “Oh Anthony you’re killing me here. You end up acting like your father every damn day. It’s like exactly how his mother described your dad as a little boy, misbehaving as a child in the same neighborhood. I hope you turn out like my side of the family ‘cause I can’t handle your wild attitude.” Although that was just a saying, it got me to wonder just how important this specific market in Belmont Avenue has had on the Italians of the Bronx. The sense that this young boy’s dad went through exactly what he was going through, about thirty years ago shows that the merchant market has been and continues to be an integral sense of community and home for the people that live there.

        As I walked through to my favorite area in the market, which is Café al Mercato, I noticed yet again how this is a site for conversation within the community. The café was practically full, up to the point where I could barely find one empty seat. It had all the notions of Italy that I love, from the vivid and colorful paintings of the Italian Rivera to the old-style wooden tables. It gave off a vibe that I was in Italy again for vacation, simply because Italy and my home country of Albania are very close to each other. As I ordered my macchiato drink and sat down, I tried my best to look around the area without looking like a creep who was spying on people.  The center of attention was clearly aimed towards three middle aged men who were drinking their espresso coffee. They all looked like they were having a friendly debate until it turned very loud, to the point where after every sentence they said they would end it with a loud pounding on the table just to get their point across. As I was sitting next to them, I couldn’t help but notice that the other people around were staring at them occasionally, stopping their own conversation to realize where that loud banging was coming from. Their topic was about the gun debate in America, and they were definitely angry. One of the friends, who was wearing a shirt that said “When was America ever great?” shirt – a weird coincidence if you ask me- was going on about how he was tired of hearing about nationwide shootings every month. The other friend, without skipping a beat, that “maybe we should get those NRA people hear and see how quickly they change they minds about gun laws then. Man, these people are so scared ‘out they damn money that they keep they head up they ass.” The other friend, who I believe was the oldest of all because he had a older looking face, stated “if only Mussolini was alive, he knew exactly how to handle these soft sons of B’s, won’t have no shootings no more. Matter of fact, he would be kind of this block.” That last part really stood out to me because Mussolini was an Italian leader during World War 2 who teamed up with Hitler and drove his people to war against the Allied Powers that had America in it. To state that a guy like Mussolini would be the leader of the Little Italy section shows how much some people had different viewpoints about power and authority. Moreover, the chats kept being connected to the topic of Little Italy. If I had to make an educated guess, I would say that this group of friends definitely grew up in the neighborhood and definitely have been coming to this cafe in the market for some time now. I was intrigued that a cruel character like Mussolini would be respected by a member in the community, but I understand that people might have had different opinions of the man who was the leader of Italy during the war.  Another statement that one of those friends made captured my attention the most, which was “Thank goodness that we still have our shops so that we are keeping our Italian culture alive because this new generation don’t seem to give a damn anymore.” This statement seemed so influential because it felt like a deep sadness was being expressed in the man’s voice, even though he could have expressed that in a lighter tone. I automatically thought of a article that I read online, which stated “For Italian neighborhoods, such generally accepted and almost stereotypical ethnic markets, other than neighborhood shrines, have been barbershops, pizza parlors and various other purveyors of Italian foods.” (Krase, 2006) This statement got me thinking of how the original Italian immigrant tired their best to keep their heritage alive in another continent, and how the people that were from that generation kept to that belief. However, it seems like the new generations are not as culturally aware of their grandparents’ struggles to make a new life in America. A further statement made by the friends showed some level of racism that was not to be said in public or private. The friend said “All that blacks moving into our neighborhoods got them thinking they all that, they just need to move outta here.” It felt like time stood still when he said that, because people stopped talking and definitely heard it, but no one really did anything. This made me think of the original Italian immigrants to the community, who had to compete against blacks and other nationalities for work, especially from another article I later came upon. That article stated “As they (Italian immigrants) began to navigate and understand the American racial system, they gradually distanced themselves from blacks and other people of color, ultimately constructing Italian identity as American, civilized, and white.” (Bencivenni, 2015) This thought came to me that although blacks and other nationalities have come to live in the Little Italy neighborhood community today; there is still some prejudice against “other people” moving in.

        As I left the market, I contemplated on what I saw occur, between the different people in the market who keep the market as a mini-community inside the Little Italy neighborhood in the Bronx. I realized how there are many different viewpoints, especially based on how the neighborhood used to be and is changing. Some people don’t like change, and I understand that, but to directly blame other nationalities because they are moving in the Little Italy community is racist to say the least. I witnessed stronger forms of conversations going on the second time around I visited the market as a field-site, usually because whenever I get my groceries I don’t stay long enough to see how the market is like a little community in itself. Furthermore, as I did some additional research post-field research, I found out about the many other “Little Italy’s” in New York City, conveniently located in every borough.  The root of them all is the pride that they have that is still evident from when the original Italian immigrants came over in hordes and created these communities. Upon research on an online article, I came upon an important statement that said “Arthur Avenue, the epicenter of Bronx’s little Italy neighborhood, still attracts scores of tourists eager for a deeper dive into Italian-American culture than the one they can find on Manhattan’s Mulberry Street.. But underneath that theme-park candy coating isn’t cynicism, but pride. Thanks to all that marketing, and a steady stream of loyal customers. The spirit of Little Italy still hangs on.” (Steiman, 2016) This single statement sums up the Arthur Avenue Food Market perfectly, an immersive mini-community that continues to serve as a market and means of communication within the Little Italy Community.

                                    Bibliography

Bencivenni, Marcella (2015) “A Great Conspiracy against Our Race: Italian Immigrant Newspapers and the Construction of Whiteness in the Early 20th Century.” Journal of American History 102, no. 3 (December 2015): 904-905. Academic Search Complete, EBSCOhost (Accessed April 8, 2018)

Krase, Jerome (2006) Seeing Ethnic Succession in Little Italy: Change despite Resistance, Modern Italy, 11:1, 79-95, Academic Search Complete, DOI: 10.1080/13532949500492340 (Assessed April 8, 2018)

Steiman, Adina, publisher, “Arthur Avenue is the Biggest (and Best) Little Italy in America.” October 11, 2016, https://www.epicurious.com/expert-advice/arthur-avenue-is-the-biggest-and-best-little-italy-in-america-article, Accessed April 4, 2018


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