Form 3 Vocab Quiz and Leopards

The power was out today, so I couldn't print vocabulary quizzes for form 3.  So, I had Collins write the list of vocabulary words while I wrote all the definitions in random order for them to match. You know, I first decided to be a teacher when I was four years old.  My main motivation was that I would get to write on a blackboard--that looked like a lot of fun!  Well, I love teaching, but I'm rather underwhelmed by the fun factor of writing on blackboards.  They are one of my least favorite parts of teaching, actually.  But the vocabulary quiz was taken as scheduled! 

In other news, look what I got in Arusha! Isn't he adorable?  I found this little painting of a leopard cub that goes really well in my new living room.  I hope someday I can see a leopard; they're the only one of the "Big Five" (elephants, rhinos, buffalo, lions and leopards...and I'm really not sure why those five were chosen, and not hippos, giraffes, cheetahs, etc.) that I haven't seen.  They're solitary and well-camouflaged, though, so they're the hardest to find. 

Tanzanian Paintings

To celebrate moving into my new apartment, I finally bought some paintings from Mafia Alley, a big handicraft market in Arusha.  It's the kind of place in which bargaining is expected, and the prices aren't too high.  These will add a lot of color to my new place!  My favorite is a large painting of a rhino, my favorite animal.  The yellow tones in the background match a lot of other things I plan to put in the living room.  

The other smaller paintings I bought are in the Tinga Tinga style.  Tinga Tinga is a painting style that is very popular here in Tanzania.  The style started in the Oyster Bay area in Dar es Salaam in the mid-1900s and spread from there.  The founder of the style was Edward Said Tingatinga, and the style was named for him.  

Tinga Tinga started out being painted on masonite, using bicycle paint, which made for very bright colors.  They are usually very stylized, with caricatures of animals arranged into patterns on bright backgrounds.  While they don't have to be of animals, most are because tourists spend the most money on paintings, and visitors like African animals.  

They aren't for everyone, but I love them!