the ants go marching one by one...

It seems I often run into incidents at the airport, perhaps because I try to travel with multiple 70 pound bags and an often overweight carry-on.  Unfortunately, this last July was no exception.  I approached the ticket counter with all my luggage only to be told there was an embargo and I would be permitted to take only two bags, period, no exceptions.  Well, this brought on the tears.  I hadn't sorted anything while packing, so everything I needed for the start of school and my personal things were all mixed up in all my bags.  I didn't have any idea how to repack them right there at the baggage counter and end up with the things I needed the most.  So my logical conclusion was first to cry and then I said a little prayer that I would somehow know what to do.  In just a few minutes the lady at the counter said I would be able to take all my bags, I would just have to pay a fee (which I knew beforehand, who gives anyone 4 free 70 pound bags to go anywhere?).  Apparently tears and obvious desperation work with airport employees...or maybe it was the praying.  When she weighed one of my bags, it was 72 pounds, juuuuussst over the 70 pound limit.  So I took out a blanket and gave her the rest of my luggage.  Good start.  Around the corner, I decided instead of having my family take my blanket home that I would just shove it in my carry-on.  Good idea...if your carry-on isn't full.  Not such a good idea if you require the assistance of another person to close it (and later the assistance of two people because security thought it a good idea to empty the entire contents of my carry-on and "purse" and send each item through the conveyer belt separately in about 10 trays...score).  "Purse" meaning giant bag with laptop bag, laptop, and three binders inside.  But with the help of my dad and later two Good Samaritans at security I got everything I brought inside my luggage and all the way to Brazil.  Maybe next time I should leave my giant candles, lamp with lampshade, and bead collection at home...maybe.  When I arrived in Brazil, I had an extra health form to fill out, no big deal.  And then everyone working in the airport had on masks...okay, they work with people all day, no big deal.  And then a few days later the authorities mandated that all public schools in São Paulo delay the start of school due to concerns about the spread of the swine flu (referred to as H1N1 by the politically correct).  As a private school it was decided that it would be wise for us to follow suit.  Now maybe that IS a big deal.  So I arrived in Brazil on July 25 and the start of school was changed to August 17.  This equals a lot of free time, which I do not object to.  I had a lot of time organize things in my pre-school classroom, which included finding ants to fill my new ant farm.  You would think that since ants seem to be ev.ery.where when you don't want them to be that I could find a few for educational purposes.  Not so much.  I did find one anthill with some tiny ants, so I collected them and deposited them into my ant farm, only to find the next day that all but about three had escaped through the air hole in the top (good to know, now, that there is an air hole in the top...also good that my ant farm was outside and I didn't let loose a bunch of tiny ants in my house).  I went collecting again.  I felt a little bit like Godzilla, poking holes in their homes and chasing them with my spoon and Tupperware.  I felt a twinge of remorse for uprooting them from their little ant compounds, but as soon as they started running wildly away from me, I forgot my remorse.  It just became a challenge to see how many ants I could catch and put into captivity (a battle considering every time I opened the container some of them escaped, so putting one more ant in often meant losing three others who saw the way out).  Swine flu school delay, check.  Lots of prep time, check.  Ant farm that isn't empty, check.  Lesson plans for the first week of school...I should probably start working on that.