Sociology study

I haven't written in a while, but I have a lot of thoughts that I can't really share in public, but I neeeeed to write them.  I'll start here.

I go to my town pool every Sunday.  It is a fascinating study in human behavior.  Much like when they told me in grad school to sit in the high school lunch room during lunch and just watch how things go.  I didn't do that as an intern, but I did in Heichal.  I noticed that for such a frum yeshiva, I never heard any zimun at lunch.  Never.  Not once.  It doesn't mean it didn't happen.  But I never heard it.  Weird, right?

Anyways, back to my original point.  So, I go to the pool and it's fascinating.  There are umbrellas and each umbrella is a different shul group.  Darchei friends sit here, Shomrei friends sit there, Young Israel people sit over there, Teaneck people all sit together somewhere, and the non-jews sit wherever.  People think this is normal b/c obviously you want to sit with your friends. But people have friends across the shuls.  Yet they always sit with their shul.  It's like sticking with your bus on a school trip.  I think it's bizarre.

Also, I am amazed at the amount of people who bring their phones into the water.  Like they are standing there, holding their phones as if they're in their back yard.  That is just asking for trouble.  I even saw one woman tuck her phone into the strap of her bathing suit.  Seriously??  It is totally going to fall in the water!  I guess it's not my problem if they want to be stupid, but I'm just perplexed by this.

I also find Perek in the Park fascinating, but that's for another post.  And anyways, all this might be my own insecurities and social phobia talking.