Ants, Ants, and Anticipation (appropriately annotated as an assonance)

Yesterday the ant problem in my apartment reached a new level. Prior to yesterday, I had noticed that if I were to drop a crumb or two on the counter when making a sandwich, I would be greeted within a few minutes by a couple tiny ants (about ¼ the size of your regular, run-of-the-mill [no reference to pre-industrial economies intended . . . keep reading, you’ll get it] ant at home) would come and help themselves. Not a problem, I thought to myself. I can keep this place tidy, I thought. And, I thought I had kept the place tidy. But yesterday morning when I went to the kitchen where I had left the (mostly clean) dishes from the little party the night before, the ants had had an industrial revolution in my sink! Hundreds of rural ants had immigrated to this newly bustling metropolis and had started numerous assembly lines. Unfortunately for the ants though, by choosing the sink as their urban centre, they had designed their own watery grave. For anyone who’s seen the movie “I Am Legend” (I just saw it on the plane-ride over here), it was kind of like the scene where Will Smith goes nuts right before the woman and child show up, except, instead of an SUV, I had a washcloth.

Anyway, more on the ants as the situation progresses. Remember, the Chinese had their attempts at an industrial revolution stifled for decades, and look at them now!

Today I got up bright and early (yay for stopping my terrible sleep cycle!) and went over to Mrs. Venter’s house to help in the office along with Engelhardt. All I had to do was make photocopies of about seven or eight pieces of music, thirty copies each, for the musical (in case you don’t know, Mascato is putting on a musical in September which is pretty much the only thing anyone is thinking about right now). Now, back in Canada, this would be about a ten-minute job. But back in Canada, we have fancy photocopiers that pretty much do everything for you. Here, not so. Can you imagine if our directors had to staple every piece of music individually, by hand, as well as perform all other administrative duties, all on a budget of $0 (or whatever they felt like spending out of their own pocket)? But anyway, after a couple hours of work in the morning, Engelhardt and I went to Linus’s high school choir’s rehearsal to talk about their performance at the competition in Windhoek last weekend (I think “reflection time” is something Engelhardt picked up in Canada). They got a gold ranking, which is the highest you can get! It doesn’t mean that they won, because two other choirs also got gold, but it means they did very well. During the rehearsal, Engelhardt mentioned that at some point I would be working with them. But the problem was, he started listing off all my “credentials” – how I had a diploma in composition, and had sung in Kokopelli for many years, and was going to be a music teacher, and so on. It kind of freaked me out, because now they’re going to be expecting big things from me. BUT, I also realize how silly that is because a: I came here to do things like work with choirs so why am I complaining, b: I am going to be a music teacher so I had better get used to it, and c: I probably have more to offer a group like this than I even realize yet. So, I think the sooner I get into to it and start doing this kind of stuff, the better I’m going to be by the end of it. And that’s kind of the point of the exchange program, right? Duh. Mrs. Venter also said that she was going to have me work with the new boys who have just started with Mascato this year, so yeah! Bring it on!

-Joel.