Mama's Taking Us to the Zoo...

July 15, 2013

Today was zoo day!  Michel had never been to the zoo before, and we were excited to show her the variety of animals.

(Just as an aside, I don't think I have ever been to the zoo without the lyrics of "Mama's Taking Us to the Zoo Tomorrow" running through my head.  I was horrified to learn that the kids I took to the zoo had never heard the song.  Not the Colombian kids, but the American-born, English-speaking bunch.  In my childhood, Peter, Paul, and Mary serenaded us on trips to the zoo (and in their version, Daddy is taking us to the zoo).  By the time I was babysitting, the younger generation had Raffi to sing the song.  Today's kids are completely missing out.  Am I the only one who remembers this song??  Much to the amusement of the neighbor kids and the horror of my own offspring, I played the song for them on YouTube and sang along.  Loud.  With actions.)

Can't anyone sing along with me??

Anyway, I headed to the zoo with my boys, Michel, and three neighbor kids.  How fun to see her delight at each of the animals.

I was impressed with how much she knew about each animal.  I tried to capture her interest with any fact I might know about an animal (e.g. that starfish can regenerate their legs if they lose one), but she already knew every tidbit I offered.  She has a strong interest in science, and it is clear that her memory grabs on to interesting facts.  She has previously mentioned that human anatomy and zoology are the fields of science that she enjoys the most.

A friend tipped us off that the new black rhino exhibit might be underwhelming, but that feeding ostriches would be a crowd-pleaser.  Sure enough, each of the six kids loved passing leaves of lettuce to a perpetually hungry ostrich.

"Feed me!"

Michel was super-brave and excited to touch a snake and a rat in a special temporary exhibit.  The kids ended the trip with time on the huge playground, and all six kids enjoyed variations on "Hide & Seek."  The other kids included Michel in all activities, and the language barrier never stopped her from joining them in the fun.  I confess, I didn't offer the kids a chance to feed the animals in the petting zoo area, in part because I didn't want drama among the kids about who got more or who spilled the food or who finished first...and I forgot to bring quarters for the food machines.  Michel, however, was very resourceful, picking up tiny pellets of food that she could feed to the goats and the koi fish.  It makes me sad to think that some of this resourcefulness probably stems from survival skills she has acquired over the years.  I hope that she will meet a family who will forever be able to lovingly provide for her needs.

We had a snack outside the zoo before leaving, and I was surprised at how hungry the kids were!  Michel had string cheese, watermelon, graham crackers, and lots of water after our hot day at the zoo.  (Bell peppers were not a hit, so the other kids shared her portion.)  She taught one of the neighbor kids how to play Spot It when we got home.  Michel was way too fast for a beginning Spot It player, but the neighbor was a great sport and kept playing until she got closer to Michel's final score.

After dinner, we took the kids to the neighborhood park.  We knew they were overtired after the zoo, but we had promised Michel a park trip today and wanted to keep our word.  Michel walked with her arm around Matthew's shoulders and enjoyed time on the slide and swings.

On the way home, the boys wanted to stop by "the Viper house," where a neighbor has a Dodge Viper sports car.  Matthew had the chance to sit in the car, and we had a fabulous opportunity to talk about Kidsave to a family who has considered adoption.

The boys think this would be a nice first car.
I think they should get a nice first job.

Michel immediately bonded with their tiny ten-week-old puppy, Chewbacca.  I'm sure Michel would love to be in a forever family that has pets, especially dogs.  She played with Chewbacca for probably half an hour, punctuated by squeals of laughter and joy.  She doesn't think Mia will fit in her suitcase, but she's pretty sure she could get Chewbacca in her backpack to take back to Colombia.  I'm guessing Customs might have something to say about that!

It's hard to think about Michel going back to Colombia in a couple of weeks.  We hope that by the time she leaves, we have started a journey for her that does not end on August 2nd, but culminates in her coming home to a family forever.