Senses and Sensorium Assignment

        For this assignment, the place that I chose to visit and consequently never return to was Fairview Lanes Bowling Alley in the Fairview Mall located in St. Catharine’s. I came across the decision, as my roommate and myself had always wanted to go bowling while here at school, but never seemed to get around to it. This however, gave me more incentive and motivation to follow through this time around. As I walked down to the Bowling Alley, it smelt dungy, likely because it was in the basement of the mall. It also faintly smelt of feet from the oh so sterile shoes. But more than that, I smelt the wonderful smell of greasy food from the bar, which got my stomach growling. Aside from the array of smells, my immediate attention was drawn to the vibrantly colourful and flashing lights that lined the ceiling. As vision or sight is deemed to be the primary sense, reflecting back on my experience, I noticed that I automatically sought out what I could see, rather than the other senses of touch, taste and smell that followed. While I made myself comfortable at Lane #4, I was surrounded by lots of people, those of which included a diverse cultural body of adults, children and students. Also in my surroundings were brightly coloured tiles, banners, and TV’s that placed emphasis on the stimulating environment. As I sat and watched my friend bowl, I could hear music that brought me back to the 90’s, pins being struck and knocked down, people’s cheers and conversational chatter, the ball hitting the floor and gutters and the occasional bell in the background. All of this could be individually picked out when paid attention to, however when focusing on other senses, I found that it became nothing but white noise. When it was my turn to bowl, I picked up the large and heavy 10-pin bowling ball and stretched my fingers to fit into the slots (This was my first and likely my last time 10-pin bowling). The bowling ball felt smooth and cold and gave my hands a greasy feeling afterwards. As I walked up to the lane, my feet slid along the shiny floors and felt snug in the shoes that have been moulded by others. After a long and embarrassing two games, I gave in and bought some food that tasted absolutely wonderful. The saltiness of the fries and the refreshing coolness of the coca cola was an enjoyably delicious way to end the night. Through the duration of my stay, my roommate and I tried to figure out what I could take as a souvenir… it seemed that taking a bowling ball wasn’t quite in the cards. I asked the lady if she had any flyers that I could take, but all they had at the moment was these awesome birthday party flyers…If you know anyone under the age of 15 this is the place to go! I also managed to snag a pretty cool pen while she wasn’t looking!