Ethnography

Ethnography

For my ethnography fieldwork I went to Zuma Beach in Malibu, California. Zuma, to me, is a place that I am very accustomed to and it has a great significance on my life. I grew up about three miles away from Zuma just down the coast of Malibu. I went to Zuma a lot as a kid to hang out with friends, surf, relax, and just to spend time with my family. To me this beach is a familiar place and part of my everyday life so I tried to look at the beach through the eyes of a tourist or someone who rarely visits the beach.

            I went down to Zuma with my sister’s friend Tom, who is from England and has never been to California. Back in England he surfs occasionally so I know he has been to the beach before but the beaches are very different over in the United Kingdom. I observed his initial reaction to the sand, water, weather, and all of the surroundings. He was astonished by the beautiful waves and golden sand; it seemed as if he were in paradise. We went surfing early in the morning and saw some dolphins, pelicans, and even a whale in the distance. This was the first time he had ever been close enough to dolphins to where it feels like you could ride them. Tom was amazed by their gracefulness and how the just love people. This experience with Tom allowed me to see the beach from a different angle than I have seen it all my life. To see someone so appreciative and stunned by what is around them truly was a treat. I felt that the beach supports the customary ways we view the world because it is showing how much a person can appreciate nature. A beautiful landmark such as a beach can really touch a new person in a way I couldn’t understand but if I were to travel to an unfamiliar place I could too experience the same feeling. Nature can touch people in many different ways but I think it should be a universal feeling that we appreciate the world around us.

            Later that day we relaxed on the beach and I was thinking about how the space was used and how the beach describes Los Angeles. Observing the families and people around us showed me that the beach has many uses. I use the beach for surfing, relaxing, hanging out with friends, exercise and many more ways. I knew all these reasons before I looked at it from a different view. Most people use it for a place of entertainment and excitement. They also hang out with friends and family and a place where you can spend time with your loved ones. People come to the beach because it is their job such as lifeguards and police. Amazing research has been done out in the oceans and close to the beach so it is a place to learn. People go to the beach for all sorts of reasons that range from digging for buried money and possibly to find a girl or boy that they would like to date. The beach uses its resources to attract all types of people and excludes no one. I asked Tom what he thought described Los Angeles and his answer was buildings, famous people, great weather, the beach. Living in the suburbs of Los Angeles all of my life blocks my view of the city as a whole because I don’t know how people view my world. But Tom helped me in seeing how an outsider could view LA. I feel that a stereotype of LA is that everyone goes to the beach all of the time, even though it may not be true it is certainly on the minds of the people who don’t live here. The beach definitely fits in the image of the famous and tan people of LA. The beach is a lot of movies but I never get a feeling from where they are because that is completely natural to me. Someone outside of this area may be drawn in by the scenery and imagine what it would be like to be on a beach in LA. I was really grateful that Tom was able to help me see the beach from a different view and even Los Angeles.

            The beach to me will forever hold history from my life ranging from learning how to surf, training for sports in the sand, and playing pick-up hockey games in the parking lots. But the beach to others holds history maybe in different ways. They could have been on vacations to beaches that will stick in their memory forever but even if a person hasn’t traveled to the beach it still will hold history. The ocean is a huge part of our world and is an amazing aspect of our lives. We share our earth with animals in the oceans even if we don’t notice it. I do feel the beaches have a history with everyone alive.