El mercado

I am very lucky to travel in the Spanish-speaking world on a regular basis. I have been to Spain, Mexico, Guatemala, and Dominican Republic. My husband is Dominican, so we go back to visit his family and friends regularly. All of this travel allows me to connect more with Spanish-speaking culture and help students see my first-hand experiences.


In a recent trip to DR, my husband and I went to the local market and I decided to give up on trying to "fit in" and be a total tourista americana by taking pictures of what I saw to share with my class. These photos have more meaning for them because I can say that I personally took them, I really bought my food this way while I was there, and I can answer any questions they have. They also love to see the tropical food and ingredients that they know I use when cooking at home with my husband. 

 I strongly encourage any language teachers to take advantage when you are in a target language country.  Take photos, even if you feel foolish doing so.  I went to this market on a regular basis when I lived in San Pedro and by the time I was taking these photos, I knew many of the vendors and they knew me, and even though it felt strange to be photographing my daily grocery shopping, I have seen how wonderful these are to show my students.  Take photos of every day events.  Take photos of the food.  Take photos of the people and places you visit.  Besides actually bringing your students into the culture, sharing your experiences with them is the best you can do to make it feel "real" to them. 


 ~ La profesora