Abby
Lauter


English
111

Matthew
Weinkam

September
16,
2009




A Place with No Misfits

The first time I walked into Kofenya an almost perfect atmosphere greeted me.

The smell of coffee and delicious sweets overwhelmed my nose; there was background

music and noise, which I loved because I cannot stand the loudness of complete silence.

(I like this opening, it is a little bit cheesy but i think it introduces Kofenya very well) But

with the coffee grinders and blenders going it got a little too loud, almost to where I could

not hear myself think. (I use to work at a coffee shop in my hometown, the sound of the
coffee grinders reminded me of
work and trying to take orders
Abagail Lauter 12/6/09 4:55 PM
Comment: I
didn’t
realize
it
but
I
was

using
pathos
here,
I
was
drawing
the

readers
attention
with
emotional

statements
and
feeling
that
I
had
about

Kofenya.



on the drive through headsets,

which was completely

impossible while the coffee

grinders were going.)

I chose one of the multiple sets of black tables and chairs to sit at; it had a perfect view of

the entire room. I could see every single wall and their somehow calming but bold colors

all the local artwork hanging on them and the horrid, Steelers, number seven

Roethlisberger football jersey hanging on the wall- yes I am one of the Few Bengals fans


 
 
 1

Abby
Lauter

English
111

Matthew
Weinkam

September
16,
2009



that still exist. (The Bengals actually got good this year... and now they have a whole

bunch of fans again!) I guess you could call me one of the true fans considering I did not

jump off the bandwagon once they started losing. (I could probably cut out a little of this Abagail Lauter 12/6/09 4:58 PM
Comment: These
sentences
could
have

been
structured
a
little
better,
they
are
a

sentence, and leave it at “–yes I am one of the few Bengals fans that still exist” it sounds little
confusing
the
way
that
they
are

worded
and
cold
have
either
been

a little too wordy with the sentence following) rearranged
or
rewritten.



After setting my stuff down I decided to order a drink but with so many delicious

sounding options I could not decide. Do I choose Warm or Cold, Coffee or Tea, a

Frappenya (Kofenys’s Frappachino) or a smoothie? (This was such a hard decision, I

remember that it was a hot day

and I couldn’t decided if i wanted

something refreshing or just a

normal coffee drink, and there

were so many delicious sounding

choices!) After standing there

staring at the menu with a

dumbfounded look on my face for

a good couple of minutes, a boy

with a black pita pit shirt on, camo shorts, a baseball hat, and longer hair walks up. (I

think I did a good job with descriptions in this paper, I really paid attention to the people,

and the surroundings at Kofenya). I told him to go ahead and order because I had no

clue. After ordering he continued to stand there and talk to the Barista and then he

convinces me that I should go with a peach Smoothie because “the peach has such an


 
 
 2

Abby
Lauter

English
111

Matthew
Weinkam

September
16,
2009



intense flavor the burst in your mouth”. After ordering my smoothie (which I didn’t like,

it was too “peachy” for me) the boy stood there and carried on a conversation with me

for a good fifteen minutes, it turns out his name was Micah, he was a very frequent

customer, and he loved music. Matter of fact, he was in a band. He asked me what type

of music I liked and me being the girl I am I told him just about anything, I love country,

and definitely no scream-o or hard rock. He told me I needed to expand my music

horizons, told me a few good names of artist I should listen to and then he left. About

five minutes later he came back in with a CD, he told me to listen to it and then pass it on

and let someone else expand his or her horizons, and then he left once again. (Not only

did i dislike the smoothie the Micah recommended, i didn’t like the c.d. either) That is

exactly what I dd. Micah was one of the many different people that I crossed paths with

during the time that I sat and observed. He enforced to me that Kofenya is a place for

everyone, many different people come and go everyday. He also enforced to me that

Kofenya fits every different walk of life and people from many different backgrounds

and lifestyles. Many people say that everyplace has a stereotype but Kofenya would be

one of the places that would not fit into that mold considering the amount of diversity that

walks in and out of the door daily. (I could have explained this a little better here by Abagail Lauter 12/6/09 5:06 PM
Comment: I
used
logos
here
to
enforce
my

theses
that
there
is
no
specific
stereotype
at

throwing out a couple of examples before I went into my longer paragraphs that were Kofenya.



more in-depth)

When I sat down and interviewed Chelsea, one of the managers, I asked her what

she thought was the stereotype for the average customer that comes to Kofenya and she

made an awesome point. “The obvious would be college students with credit cards


 
 
 3

Abby
Lauter

English
111

Matthew
Weinkam

September
16,
2009



because almost every college student uses a credit card and this is a college town, but

other than that I would say that there are no other stereotypes.” Kofenya has many

different crowds that venture in and out and many different regulars, it all depends on the

time of day and just the day in general. In the early morning it is the same professors

everyday, dressed up and on their way to class, mid morning and during the day it would

be more townies and afternoons and late night it’s a majority of college kids. (I think that Abagail Lauter 12/6/09 5:10 PM
Comment: Here
I
was
using
karios

because
I
was
describing
how
the
different

I did a good job describing a variety of people that frequent Kofenya here.) As Chelsea times
of
day
bring
in
different
people.




said “Every one that comes in here is different, even the workers we are all a little

diverse.” Abagail Lauter 12/6/09 5:10 PM

Comment: This
paragraph
also
backs
up

my
thesis
a
lot.
I
like
how
I
used
quotes
from

Sitting at my black table that was wobbly and leaned to the right, probably my
interview
to
back
up
my
thesis.




from the multiple people that overloaded it with heavy books, and elbows that helped

prop themselves up while studying. I got to experience this first hand. My first college

student suspects, three boys. These boys would be your beyond average Miami

University, J. Crew U., prep boys. All three of them were put together perfectly with

their matching khaki shorts, each a different color Ralph Lauren Polo and all three were

polished off with their Sperry Topsider boat shoes. (I like this description a lot, it

describes the “Miami stereotype” perfectly. ) These boys were probably the most

indecisive boys I’ve ever seen in my life they stood at the counter for a

good ten minutes one of them rocking side-to-side, left foot, right foot, left

foot, right foot, as the worn down floor in front of the counter creaked and

squeaked. They finally made up their minds, ordered, and then wait…they changed their

minds again. Finally they collected their coffee and food from the counter that was filled


 
 
 4

Abby
Lauter

English
111

Matthew
Weinkam

September
16,
2009



with multiple different types of pastries, brightly colored coffee mugs and multiple syrup

bottles each a different flavor and headed over to the bar that looks out over the street,

where they most likely talked about the people walking by and gossip about the latest frat

news. Not long after sitting down at the bar, the boys got up threw their trash in the

overflowing trash can, the barista was to lazy to take out and they moved to the big black

comfy couches where they continued their gossip session like little girls. (I think this was

my favorite paragraph in the whole paper, it makes me laugh when I read it, and it is so

true.)


 
 
 5

Abby
Lauter

English
111

Matthew
Weinkam

September
16,
2009



After a little bit of sitting two girls came in and sat at the table next to me, both a

little heavier, and older looking but still in college, they could have been grad students

but my guess would be seniors. They both were carrying bags, had on skirts and dressier

tops on and they acted very professional. After getting their coffee, in actual mugs, not

the plastic to go cups, they sat down and started to talk. At first I was thinking that is was

probably an interview, the girl with the long dark hair was writing and then other one was

talking but their conversation soon got very personal, making me sure that it was not.

Both were in school to be teachers,

and you could tell that’s what they

were meant to be, both had very

calming voices that would draw

young kids attention better than

Saturday morning cartoons. (I think

this was a good analogy.) They

began talking about religion and religion in schools and the next thing I knew they were

holding hands, with their heads bent, and they were praying. (I still can’t believe that this

happened, it was totally unexpected and I had no clue what to think.) They continued to

pray for a while, they probably felt like the calming atmosphere of Kofenya made it a

serene place to pray, and maybe they wanted to thank God for all the opportunities that

he had presented them in life. Disregarding what they were praying for they definitely

added to my diverse experience at Kofenya. Abagail Lauter 12/6/09 5:13 PM

Comment: Here
I
used
Logos
to
make

sense
on
the
situation.




 
 
 6

Abby
Lauter

English
111

Matthew
Weinkam

September
16,
2009



Chelsea told me that her favorite thing about professors coming in is that

she gets to know and see them in a different environment and light than usual.

Sometimes they will come in with their wife or kids, sometimes dressed up on their way

to class or a meeting, and sometimes just in jeans and a t-shirt looking for a place to

grade papers. (I think it is cool how they get to know the professors on a personal basis)

One professor came, sneaking in the back door around students and up to the counter to

order her cup of coffee. After talking to a few students who came up to say hi, she

situated herself in the green armchair, with her laptop on her lap, and her belongs sitting

in the yellow armchair across from her. The professor sat in here chair and graded her

papers and drank her coffee enjoying the perfect atmosphere, the sunshine coming in the

windows, the music and the hustle and bustle of the coffee shop.


 
 
 7

Abby
Lauter

English
111

Matthew
Weinkam

September
16,
2009



Not only did I experience meetings between friends, job interviews and multiple

people studying in different corners but also I experienced many dates. Boys and girls

walking in together hand in hand, ordering and then situating themselves on to fluffy

couches and over stuffed armchairs. Some the average looking student a few dressed in

all black, and then my favorite of all the old couple. An old Gray haired couple came in,

with matching sweaters on and ordered their coffee, black for the man, sugar for the lady,

and then took a seat on the black couch. They were townies, guaranteed alumni, mergers

and most likely have not left oxford since they arrived forty years ago to attend school.

Another townie arrives shortly after, coffee mug in hand she walks over to the coffee

condiments bar pick up three packets of raw

sugar, shakes them pours them into her mug

and hands it to Chelsea the barista who pour

her coffee and send her back out the door.

She was a regular, who comes everyday, and

gets the exact same thing. She is what a

townie is, loving oxford, the students, and the

local atmosphere

. (I loved that I got to experience all the

regulars to come into Kofenya, the regulars

were always my favorite part of working at the coffee shop.)

As Chelsea said to me in the interview “ Kofenya is a place for everyone, it’s a place with

a different environment, it’s a breath of fresh air.” I would have to completely agree with


 
 
 8

Abby
Lauter

English
111

Matthew
Weinkam

September
16,
2009



here. Kofenya is not a place for one certain person, or a type of person, it’s for everyone.

While sitting at Kofenya and observing I saw and meet so many different people, and

every time I go back for a visit or to get coffee I meet so many more. Everyone from

behind the counter serving the coffee to the customers sitting outside at the café tables are

new and exciting, each with a different culture and background. Young, old, students or

townies, Kofenya thrives with diversity and brings so much to Miami’s uptown tradition. Abagail Lauter 12/6/09 5:16 PM
Comment: I
like
how
these
last
few

paragraphs
were
arranged,
I
think
that
they


(I
think
I
could
have
done
a
better
job
with
my
closing
paragraph,
I
could
have
 did
a
good
job
describing
a
large
amount
of

different
types
of
people
and

that
the
way

that
they
were
arranged
were
very
effective

analyzed
why
all
of
these
types
of
people
come
in
or
talked
more
about
why
they
don’t
 because
it
ended
off
with
another
quote

from
the
interview
which
seemed
like
a

have
a
specific
stereotype)
 good
“summing
up
the
paper”
quote.




 
 
 9