https://padlet.com/23020386/cyifiy1my4ou5ev9 Slow Looking en-us 2022-03-01 07:02:58 UTC 2025-04-24 07:10:31 UTC hello@padlet.com https://padlet.net/icons/png/1f5d2.png 23020386 https://padlet.com/23020386/cyifiy1my4ou5ev9/wish/2070936056 2022-03-01 07:11:12 UTC https://padlet.com/23020386/cyifiy1my4ou5ev9/wish/2070936056 23020386 https://padlet.com/23020386/cyifiy1my4ou5ev9/wish/2070970795 Observed - Sound: rusting (rhythmic) of leaves, shoes grinding on pebbles - Saw: Sunlight, Grass, Man Laughing Near Car - On face: The wind, sunlight

Felt - Sound: serene, calm, satisfied, felt like ASMR (peaceful) - Saw: Pleasant, Bored, Annoyed(?) - On face: Happy, comfortable, sleepy

But when the walk ended, I felt melancholy?  ]]> 2022-03-01 07:39:35 UTC https://padlet.com/23020386/cyifiy1my4ou5ev9/wish/2070970795 23020386 https://padlet.com/23020386/cyifiy1my4ou5ev9/wish/2070979318 2022-03-01 07:45:59 UTC https://padlet.com/23020386/cyifiy1my4ou5ev9/wish/2070979318 23020386 https://padlet.com/23020386/cyifiy1my4ou5ev9/wish/2148149582 After a few field walks with the class, I realized that the methods of slow looking we utilized in the walks could be useful learning tools for my own students at SICAS DHA. I teach these students Model United Nations, which is a form of public speaking. Often my students face anxiety when asked to speak in front of others and struggle to articulate their thoughts. They also find it difficult to learn information from an academic source and translate it into a speech. Instead of relying on my traditional pedagogical methods, I took them out for a campus walk during one of our sessions. We mostly walked across the school football ground. I gave them no instructions other than that they should think and we will discuss their thoughts afterwards. Their initial thoughts were of confusion. But some of them managed to create associations, see their campus as a different and living space and were able to confidently report their findings in the form of a speech. It went so well that they now regularly ask me if we can do a walk and have speeches on the findings of the walk. It has helped them immensely with their social anxiety too. ]]> 2022-04-19 07:00:31 UTC https://padlet.com/23020386/cyifiy1my4ou5ev9/wish/2148149582 23020386 https://padlet.com/23020386/cyifiy1my4ou5ev9/wish/2148203174 During this walking activity we were tasked with collecting items on campus and mapping our trajectory.
Our trajectory was SOE/Library -> Outgate Side -> Academic Block Central Courtyard -> Khokha -> Outgate Side -> Library Lawn -> SOE/Library
These are the items I collected and my insights 

1. Orange Thumbtack - I had been resisting the urge to actively look for items and wanted to naturally come across things during my walk. While my group members had 3-4 items already by the time we made it to the central courtyard, I had none and I had lost interest in the activity. And then surprisingly, me and Shaanzeh both came across a pair of thumbtacks in close proximity near the central courtyard fountain. I happily accepted the thumbtack as my first item. It was a soft orange finish and the upper portion was a bit dirty. It was confusing seeing it at a fountain because there were no boards nearby where the thumbtack would have been used.

2. Cigarette Butt - Now motivated to find more items, I ended up grabbing a cigarette butt. It had lipstick on the filter and the white filter had grown brown over time. I struggled to hold the cigarette butt and mostly kept it in a sheet of paper I had.

3. Can of Pepsi - Near the Khokha dustbin I found a can of pepsi. It was not even crushed and someone had managed to completely miss the dustbin. I later found it fun to crush it myself and add it to my assortment of items. The can had a glossy texture and made a satisfying "crunchy" sound when I crushed it.

4. Bottle Cap - These were a common sight at the Khokha and easily available. I am sure my group members grabbed a bottle cap or two as well to complete their collection of items. The bottle cap was worn out and lying randomly in the centre hole of a Khokha bench.

Word Association Paragraph: Cigarette, Bottle, Can and Thumbtack
I put up the paper on the noticeboard using a thumbtack and went out for a cigarette. As I smoked, I felt my mouth drying up and began pondering whether I should grab a can or bottle of soda for myself. ]]> 2022-04-19 07:47:23 UTC https://padlet.com/23020386/cyifiy1my4ou5ev9/wish/2148203174 23020386 https://padlet.com/23020386/cyifiy1my4ou5ev9/wish/2148213457 2022-04-19 07:56:15 UTC https://padlet.com/23020386/cyifiy1my4ou5ev9/wish/2148213457 23020386 https://padlet.com/23020386/cyifiy1my4ou5ev9/wish/2148249984 Places: I want to segment the broader areas I visited at the Bagh. The first was an area with a map like engravement on the ground. This was the central hub of sorts with a map of the entire area on a brown board too. The second section I visited was one with non-functional fountains and flowers. The third section was the hill-like structures from where you could view the entirety of the Bagh at certain angles. And lastly, I went back to the main area at the entrance with a jumping jack, food shops, a cart of a food seller etc.

People: I saw people selling various items. One man was selling gajray (flowers) and another was selling these fans made of a paper-like material. There were also people selling food at shops and with a cart. Other than this there were many workers wearing green vests. Additionally, there were a few gardeners and other handymen who were resting on benches. Most interestingly, I saw a group of older men who seemed to be having a get-together of sorts. Some of them wearing shalwar kameez and others wearing tracksuits. They were laughing and creating a lot of noise and seemed to be having fun. There were also other people who were just walking across the park but I did not find many of them interesting and zoned them out to instead focus on the structures, items and scenery around me.

Infrastructure/City Elements: Here, I want to talk about the various items that were part of the structure of the Bagh. There were potted plants across every path on the sides. There were red brick floors and every pathway was lined with plants on the sides. In one section, there were these fountains with no water that had a blueish surface and a fountain-like structure protruding outwards. There were also many trees that felt gigantic and made me feel small. If I was there at night, I may have felt scared and overwhelmed by the overbearing presence of those trees. There was also a huge structure atop one of the hills that was green and had engravings on it. These engravings were made by people and were mostly expressions of love/companionship. But the structure itself was very interesting to me because I could not tell precisely what it was.

Moodometer: It was difficult to track my mood across time because I was using my Ipad as a digital peripatetic box. I realized that over time it became incredibly hot and the heat had made me agitated and frustrated with the exercise. However, I managed to have a break with a few of my class fellows where we vented about our shared frustration and my mood ended up becoming better. I can segment my mood across the 4 places I mentioned. The first place (map area), my mood was at a 7, then at the second section (fountain area) it was a 4, atop the hill structures it was a 6 and then near the end I had managed to go back to a 7. My mood was mostly positive because I was consistently engaging with my peers and correlating our experiences and insights.   

Color: I saw a wheelbarrow that was a beautiful tiffany blue colour. I found a bottle that was dirty brown along with some silverware that was dull. There was a jumping jack that screamed festivity. Other than this the place was overwhelmingly green. Dark shades, light shades and everything in between. The heat was reflecting over some of the colours and added a tint of "shine".
Sound: I recorded a video of a person throwing water at some grass and it made a satisfying "swoosh" sound as the water hit the ground. Other than this I could hear some birds, I could hear a loud generator type thing and could hear people chatting.
Smell: I was not feeling very well so my sense of smell was lowered. But the best way I can describe the smell is with the words "grass" and "heat".
Found Objects: I found an old bottle, a fair and lovely wrapper and a spoon. 

]]> 2022-04-19 08:30:56 UTC https://padlet.com/23020386/cyifiy1my4ou5ev9/wish/2148249984 23020386 https://padlet.com/23020386/cyifiy1my4ou5ev9/wish/2148251557 2022-04-19 08:32:28 UTC https://padlet.com/23020386/cyifiy1my4ou5ev9/wish/2148251557 23020386 https://padlet.com/23020386/cyifiy1my4ou5ev9/wish/2148253388 2022-04-19 08:34:14 UTC https://padlet.com/23020386/cyifiy1my4ou5ev9/wish/2148253388 23020386 https://padlet.com/23020386/cyifiy1my4ou5ev9/wish/2148258039 2022-04-19 08:38:42 UTC https://padlet.com/23020386/cyifiy1my4ou5ev9/wish/2148258039 23020386 https://padlet.com/23020386/cyifiy1my4ou5ev9/wish/2148266697 I observed one janitor who was primarily cleaning tables. 
- This janitor was wearing a blackish uniform with orange accents.
- They were engaged in repeated behaviours of grabbing trash from a table and then shifting it into a large trash can.
- The efficiency with which the janitor carried out the repeated movements made me think that the work is incredibly routinized and the janitor is likely habituated to it. 
- While the work was simple, I could see that the janitor had an acute sense of his surroundings because he would react immediately after a group of people was done eating their food. 
- The trashcan being used had two compartments. One to fill with the trash and another that I could not see. The trashcan also had wheels and was easily moveable. The janitor was moving it across the food court floor. The wheels almost made the trashcan feel like a machine. 
- I also tried to think through the lens of the janitor. This was a struggle because I could not find relatability. I decided to just observe people from his vantage point. 
- People were focused on their food. There were children playing around, uncomfortably close to the railings that they could fall from. However, their parents were unbothered by this and focused on themselves. 
- The people were paying no attention to the janitor. Or maybe the janitor was so quickly cleaning the tables that it left little space for anyone to react to him. By the time you'd react he would have already moved his trashcan and himself to another section of the food court to continue his work. 

My overall conclusion was that it was a struggle to view the world from the lens of the janitor. However, it was a different and interesting experience. ]]> 2022-04-19 08:46:47 UTC https://padlet.com/23020386/cyifiy1my4ou5ev9/wish/2148266697 23020386 https://padlet.com/23020386/cyifiy1my4ou5ev9/wish/2148269612 I did not want to take a direct picture of the janitor so I made my friend Mahnoor pose and pretend I am taking her picture. You can see the janitor in the back with his trash machine. It was awkward being too close or documenting the janitor directly. ]]> 2022-04-19 08:49:32 UTC https://padlet.com/23020386/cyifiy1my4ou5ev9/wish/2148269612 23020386 https://padlet.com/23020386/cyifiy1my4ou5ev9/wish/2175107776 2022-05-09 05:33:58 UTC https://padlet.com/23020386/cyifiy1my4ou5ev9/wish/2175107776 23020386 https://padlet.com/23020386/cyifiy1my4ou5ev9/wish/2175124015 2022-05-09 05:49:26 UTC https://padlet.com/23020386/cyifiy1my4ou5ev9/wish/2175124015 23020386 https://padlet.com/23020386/cyifiy1my4ou5ev9/wish/2175131419 I recently bought an antique typewriter for my bestfriend on their birthday. I bought it from a store in instagram and was left in awe of what a beautiful machine it was. There were a few thoughts and observations I had as I used the machine and tinkered around with it. 

I want to firstly talk about the way the machine looked. It had recently been serviced so its beautiful red colour really popped out. It was almost glossy due to the material of the typewriter. But there was a contrast due to the keys of the typewriter which were slightly worn out, dirty and brown due to aging. It reminded me of our teeth and the way they change with age. In fact, one thing I noticed about the way the owner of the store talked about the typewriter was that he kept referring to it in the way we would refer to an older relative. "G sir yai 30 saal ka hai. Abhi bhi bilkul theek thaak chalta hai" - The owner had an emotional attachment to these machines and also a sense of respect as they were older machines. He kept telling me how I ought to treat these machines with respect too. In some sense, I feel like the owner had "moralized" this machine for me. I began to feel an emotional bond with it, akin to the sort of bond one has with an elderly person. Similarly, due to its age, I felt the machine had a "fragility" like an older person might have. I wonder why the owner kept "humanizing" the machine.
I also noticed that the typewriter looked very different on the inside. Its insides were made completely of metal. Again, a very different look from the plasticy feel of the keys and overall external build. The metal was shiny and more firm. There was no rust because the machine had recently been serviced and oiled. ]]> 2022-05-09 05:57:21 UTC https://padlet.com/23020386/cyifiy1my4ou5ev9/wish/2175131419 23020386 https://padlet.com/23020386/cyifiy1my4ou5ev9/wish/2175131664 2022-05-09 05:57:36 UTC https://padlet.com/23020386/cyifiy1my4ou5ev9/wish/2175131664