Tabu in Latin America

On Sunday night, I watched a new TV program in National Geographic that really called my attention. Not only because of the theme but because of its relation with our culture.

This first program was about piercing and tattoos all over America. However the program presented people from Venezuela, Colombia and Mexico and the way they take this art as their life style.

I couldn't watched it from the beginning but I could get that someone was trying to let the viewers understand that these two activities have been part of our culture since long ago. First, they tried to explain why and how inhabitants of ancient cultures practiced. Then someone said that nowadays there are many behaviours and practices that have been distroying our culture. So, this person said that having piercing and tattoos, they can reinsert and remind the others where we came from.

I don't really like this kind of art, but I do appreciate the artists that make them. By now, I am still trying to reflect, understand and organize my ideas of why people like this art. But I really invite you to watch tomorrow night (9 o'clock) this program. It will be about Physical appearence.

Food and culture

I attended an Intro B class (beginners) from CEIC. Only 9 of 12 students attented and the activity lasted around 50 minutes. In advance, students were asked to research about a particular country and its characteristics. It was a group project. Also they were told to research about the food people from that particular country eat and explain a little about it. The countries chosen by the students were Italy, China, Mexico, and France.

It was really nice to see their PowerPoint presentations and most of the groups brought food for sharing. They had lots of fun! As an anecdote, a group brought "guacamole" and the person who prepared it used lots of onion. As a result, not all of the students liked it, but one ate it all.

At the end, of each presentation the professor asked students questions about their feelings and knowledge about their research. Their comments were brief because of they have a low proficiency level. They did their best!

If you take time and think of the countries the students chose, you can notice that somehow the food eaten there are part of Costa Ricans diet. However, the Italy group brought "Crostata" an unknown dessert for me. It tastest great!

No matter if you already know something about a topic, cause the way it is presented could help you learn new aspects or understand something better. Developing these kind of activities in our classes, we could help our students analyze, understand and be empathic with the differences, similarities or even influences among cultures.

“Culture is a little like dropping an Alka-Seltzer into a glass-you don't see it, but somehow it does something.”