The Guangzhou Zoo

In 2010, we took Gabriella to the Guangzhou Zoo and within minutes I thought my passion for orphans was going to change to a passion for the underfed animals at the zoo. When I say underfed, I mean emaciated. I was going to throw some dinner (the over-populated deer in the other pen) into the lions, tigers, bear and rhino pens.

This year, though, it was amazing. All of the animals looked somewhat healthy.

Tyanna and Gabriella enjoyed feeding one of the giraffes... that was our biggest highlight of this zoo trip.  
Follow their photo sequence in feeding a giraffe!

We got to see the elephant... I think there was at least one more... thought they were supposed to have a few to be happy.

The other highlight was seeing the two panda bears. 

  

Today was bloody hot. Not sure how we even made it without personal showers attached to our backs.

Here's what a non-smiling photo shoot looks like. 

  

Somewhat acceptable photo given what we are dealing with... still so cute!

Here's the "I want my Mama" scenario...

The third highlight was watching all of the monkeys.

Somebody made a bad choice and threw something into the monkey habitat.

  

And, the fourth highlight was the massive thunderstorm that caused a peaceful day on the water to turn torrential (is that even a word) in literally seconds. SECONDS! The down pour wasn't like ANYTHING we had ever seen. It was like Heaven had opened up and the streams and water sources were all drained right over the zoo.

What the heck! Follow the Chinese! Run!

  

It went on and on and on!

I think I am saying... "Oh my word!"

  

Neither of the girls were appreciating the lightening nor thunder... it sounded like it was NEXT to us.  

Okay... let's make a run for it. We raced past the camels.

Found a sign to try to figure out how to get outta here!

This photo above is only being shown to show you how wet we truly were. DRENCHED!

The love of the metro... we were SO GLAD to be going back to our hotel!

Back to our room... showered... and, pizzaed. 

Entertaining Herself in Many Ways

As I watch and observe Amaris more and more, while she has many traditional orphanage behaviors such as staring into space, not making eye contact often, and playing with her hands in ways I haven't ever done in 42 years, I am amazed at all she does know.

She either is very smart, very creative, had a very good nanny that interacted with her, or was so truly bored that she finally figured out what to do with nothing, or what to do with just one toy or a piece of paper, or whatever she had.

For instance, at dinner last the night before, we ate at Tekila (a Mexican restaurant). The girls each received a coloring activity page and 2 markers. They colored the full paper, both sides. Amaris kept putting her paper under the main table glass so that it wouldn't keep moving while she colored at her high chair.

When she was all done, she methodically and carefully turned her paper and began ripping straight lines from one end of the paper to the other. Then, she would turn the paper clockwise one rotation and do it again. And then turn the paper one full rotation, and rip it again. She did this over and over and over until she had ripped the entire paper. Then, she ripped the pieces into smaller pieces. She had a pattern to her ripping and ripped ever so carefully. Gabriella noticed Amaris and notified us that Amaris was "making bad choices." But, we told her she could do it to with this paper, but never ever with books. We'll see how that goes!

Today she undressed her baby dolls, the one we sent to her at the orphanage for her 2nd birthday and the one we bought her the day she was born... that was a "God-thing." She not only undressed the dolls, she turned their clothes right side out, danced with them, and interacted with them.

She had a coloring book that she was coloring in and then used it to hide the ball that she really wasn't interested in throwing with Gabriella and Tyanna.