Let's Go To The Zoo!

On Tuesday the older kids from pre-school went on a big adventure to the Beijing zoo. On the way into the city, the kids chattered excitedly about which animals they were most excited to see. It was a gorgeous spring day – the pear trees were just beginning to blossom in Beijing, and the kids were thrilled to spend a morning outdoors.

As soon as we arrived, Brett was determined to lead the way! First, we went to the hippo and rhino house and he was the first in the door. But as soon as he got his first look at the hippo, he started screaming. He’d get so excited to see each animal, and he would tell everybody to hurry up as we were walking. But as soon as we got there, he’d burst into tears – all the while not being able to tear his eyes away from the animal that frightened him. We wonder if he’ll have the same penchant for scary movies in the future... The one animal that didn't scare Brett at all was the giant panda - Brett was fascinated!

But by far, the most popular place at the zoo for our kids was the monkey house. As we got close, the kids all started yelling in their adorable combination of English and Chinese, “Monkey de jia! Monkey de jia!” (“The monkey house! The monkey house!”) We saw monkeys of all sizes, swinging from the trees and even coming right up to the window to us.

After the zoo, we had lunch at Asian Star Restaurant. This restaurant serves amazing food and very generously serves us a free meal when we bring the kids into Beijing for a field trip. Our children LOVE to eat, and this day was no different. The food is served family style on a large round lazy susan. Every time a new dish was placed on the table, Emily would announce, “Wo yao zhe ge!” (“I want that!”) Pretty soon, her little plate was piled high. In record time, she’d cleaned her plate and was asking for more.

Across the table, Philip declared “Hao chi!” (“Good food!”) after each bite. When he finished eating, he asked everybody around him if they were full too. He took his plate, cup, bowl, and spoon and neatly stacked them on top of each other and then wiped off his tray with his napkin. Then he turned around and told the waitresses that the food was really good. It’s easy to tell his foster parents taught him table manners.

It was a fun day, filled with lots of happy kids and fully tummies!