Lions and Tigers and Panda Bears, Oh My!

Today we went to the Zhengzhou Zoo. We paid a whopping 16 Yuan for each adult to get in. This amounts to $2.65 or something close to that. Kendall loved the animals, especially the birds. She would point to the animals and get a big smile on her face when she saw them. The zoo had one lone giant panda. The poor thing obviously had something wrong with its front paw because it limped when it walked. It's living conditions and those of the other animals did really leave a lot to be desired. I wonder about the quality of vet services and care in this country. One would think that a majestic creature like the giant panda would have better treatment, especially since it symbolizes China so much. The zoo also had 2 red pandas, known to them as the lesser panda. Gosh, give the poor things a complex why don't you. They were rather cool looking, kind of a cross between a red fox and a racoon in many ways. And speaking of racoons (my favorite animals, next to mice and rats, as those of you at work know...) they were quite the attraction with 2 or 3 pens full of the varmin. We also got to see Asiatic elephants, tigers, lions, giraffes, a zebra, and my personal favorite the hippos. Unfortunately they were hanging out underwater at the time, so we did not get a good look at them up close. The zoo also had a little amusement park in it that looked like it was a left over from the traveling carnival circuit in the US. Needless to say we will wait to put Kendall on her first amusement park rides until we hit Dorney Park. I'm sure these rides are NOT inspected everyday. Every year would probably be lucky. After the zoo, all three of us crashed for naps this afternoon. I had to go to Yisha, our guide's room around 4:30 and pick up the documents from the notary to take to the US Consulate in Guangzhou. We also received her immunization record, a copy of her finding ad (a finding ad is what the orphanage places in the newspaper when a child is found, describing when and where he/she was discovered), and some reports from Half the Sky, an American organization that works in her orphanage. She was in their Little Sisters Program, so I can contact them when we get home and get copies of the actual reports they kept on her, along with photos. Dinner was in the resturaunt in our lobby again. Expensive but nice not to have to go out in the humidity. Tonight is our last night in Kendall's birth province. Tomorrow at 5:00 we fly to Guangzhou in southern China and will be there until next Friday when we leave to come home. Tomorrow may be the last time Kendall ever sees the province of her birth. I hope one day when she is older we will be able to bring her back and visit her orphanage so she can have a sense of where she came from. Keep your fingers crossed for us to have an uneventful flight tomorrow, which will be Kendall's first flight. Until tomorrow in Guangzhou...