Take a walk down the street and take note of what you see people doing (children going to school or playing, women shopping, someone cleaning the street, people going to work or sitting in the sunshine, shopkeepers selling their wares, craftsmen doing their work, etc.) Other possibilities may be house building, rope making, car repair, blacksmithing, office work, beggars, or musicians. Take pictures if appropriate and use them as conversation triggers with your language helper.
Where are the activities taking place? in or by a home? in an office? in a store? on the street?
Are certain activities done by people generally (e.g., window shopping), by recognized craftsmen (e.g., blacksmith, shoemaker, silversmith), restricted by sex (e.g., embroidery, knitting), limited to a specific area (e.g., working with wool or with cotton, styles of caps), or to a certain season (grass cutting, tapping trees for resin, shoveling snow)?
Are any finished products for sale? For personal pleasure or for the benefit of others? Is the activity essentially individual or cooperative? If the latter, who does what? Is food or payment provided for workers or helpers? Try to join in one or another of the activities and tell about your experience. Note the people’s reaction and their instructions to you.