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Cultural Center: La Tapata Tienda Mexicana

Date: February 7th, 2013

Location: SE 13th St, Des Moines, IA

On Thursday evening, I went to a Mexican store downtown. I recognize this isnt exactly a cultural

center, but Des Moines does not have the luxury of having the nice Latino Center of the Midlands

(located in Omaha, NE). I will also admit I was trying to double dip. I had planned a field trip for mySpanish 2 students to the store and a local, authentic restaurant. I wanted to create a scavenger

hunt for my students at the store.

I had previously gone in to the store about two weeks prior to make a reservation for our visit. The

manager was overall very friendly. He began by speaking to me in English, but when I explained in

Spanish why I was coming he continued the conversation in Spanish as well. This is sometimes not

the case. Often, native speakers will switch to English when speaking to me partially because I look

like a gringa and because I do not speak with their authentic accent. I wanted to make sure thatthe store was all right with my students coming in to do the scavenger hunt. I didnt really think it

would be, but I was slightly surprised when the manager asked if I could have about 7 students or

less in the store at a time. I was surprised because I was bringing kids in form a decent area and this

was the sketchy part of town, but I tried not to let this bother me. The manager referenced my

fianc who was with me, joking about him needing to learn Spanish but he did not switch to English

to accommodate him (knowing very well that my fianc did not speak Spanish).

When I returned on February 7th after school hours, I was slightly apprehensive. I knew I was alone

and I also knew I was going to be a minority here, which is not common for a white person. It

probably didnt help that I had a bright pink fleece jacket and pink bandana, or that I had brought my

expensive new Coach purse that I received as a Christmas gift. The clipboard in my hand didnt help

either. However, I put my biggest smile on and tried to ignore my beating heart.

Inside the store, I was reminded of what I tell my students: Spanish speakers are often very grateful

that youre speaking to them in their language. In the USA it is considered a negative thing to hear

someone speaking a language that isnt English, and so most students think they will be ridiculed for

their attempts. I had several people offer to help me, and two even initiated conversations with me

in Spanish. They overall seemed very pleased to have a school coming in to learn in an authentic

environment. Sure, I received some stares from other customers while I was there. Im not sure if

this is because of my outfit, clipboard, or the fact that I was about a head taller than everyone in

there. I just simply smiled and imparted Spanish when I could. A simple gracias or perdn does

wonders.

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As for my students the next day, they really enjoyed the scavenger hunt and the experience in a real

Mexican store. This was so much better than me simply talking about the kinds of foods they eat or

showing them a powerpoint with pictures. I had some students comment on how people stared at

them, and most attributed the looks to the color of their skin. Some students beamed with pride

when relaying the fact that some locals helped them with the search. What made me uber proud

was the fact that 100% of my students wanted to go back into the store and buy some of the food

they had seen!

I was so proud that I ventured out of my comfort zone in doing this field trip, and that I found such

a valuable resource in my community.