Page - 70 - in Mobile Culture Studies - The Journal, Volume 3/2017

70 Mobile Culture Studies. The Journal 3 2o17 Agata Stanisz | Tractor unit acoustemology Not only Polish drivers of long-haul tractor units, but also the Hungarian, Bulgarian, Ukrainian or Russian ones consume home-made food prepared earlier in the form of bottled jars contain- ing the most stereotypical national dishes (see Hammer 2002, 80-126; Seabra Real Sampaio da Nóvoa 2014). Those jars carried by the Polish drivers contain bigos, stuffed cabbage, pork chops and frikadellers, stew, soups, croquettes, pancakes, salads, fried fish. Apart from jars, the drivers are always equipped with home-made cakes and biscuits, white wheat bread or rolls, Polish beer and vodka. During their 48-hour weekend pauses, drivers sometimes prepare common meals which constitute a mixture of simple ethnic dishes. Carrying one’s own food and not eating at the restaurants or bars at parking lots is, of course, motivated by financial reasons. The attach- ment to national tastes and smells – not only the ones of dinners, but also of bread, vegetables or alcohol – can be, however, interpreted as a form of resistance to  the mobile, unpredictable pace of life in mobile homes. Anthropology of sound and ambiances of mobility What can be offered by the acoustemological approach and audioethnography in the context of the presence and use of sound in the culture of tractor unit drivers? Knowledge about the world is mainly associated with vision but this does not change the fact that the reality on and by the road is experienced through various sounds produced by human activity (those accompanying interactions, life of various professional groups related to freight transport and production, those accompanying nomadism and tourism or roadside entertainment), mechanical sounds (all sorts of drones: from the sounds of traffic through those of construction machinery to household appliances), reproduced composed sounds (music ubiquitous at petrol stations, in shops, restau- rants, shared or privatized with from MP3 players, iPods, mobile phones or laptops) as well as natural sounds (wind, water, animals). In spite of the fact that everyday life of tractor unit drivers comprises a whole spectrum of multi-sensual experiences and particular senses should actually not be separated from one another in an artificial manner, it seems, though, that it is worth making an effort to  consider how the examination of a given socio-cultural context can contribute to scientific knowledge by being listened to. According to Jean-Paul Thibaud, the fact that sound can be studied in an effective way, as it can be recorded, measured and descri- bed, constitutes one of the  arguments in favor of taking cognizance of it. In the face of that, it has become possible to  elaborate on the sound paradigm in social science, design, architecture, ecology or geography (Thibaud 2011). Furthermore, sound or, in particular, ambiance facilitate scientific immersion. This is  due to the fact that sound has specific physical properties – it is omnidirectional and literally per- Audio file 20: Cooking Polish frikadellers. Langenfeld, Germany, 2011-08-16. https://app.box.com/embed/preview/4qkio3dlrel3z69rjk4f?theme=dark