Life in China has been ridiculously busy lately! Since the May break I have been working my face off! May is a busy month for all teachers; spring seems to urge on activity fever, with a high need for teacher volunteers. Maple Leaf has been flooded with tournaments, staff meetings, graduation events and preparation for the end of the year. I had an exciting moment last week, as I got to be in my first picture with a graduating class. I am excited to see my boys graduate next month, and it has been gratifying to hear about their future plans and university acceptances. (Of course it has also been frustrating as my amount of skippers has gradually risen with the temperature and those same letters!)
I have been especially busy preparing my grade 12s for their provincial exam (done!) and getting ready to host a Model UN conference at our school next week. This means my spare time for updating my family and friends has been at an all time low! Sorry friends, but here is a brief update to quell your desire for some Brittaney (which I assume you all have). If this does not satisfy, fear not. I will be back in the homeland in a mere 6 weeks!
A reminder that I live in China. A baby bear and tiger fighting. (Notice the knee high fences)
Last weekend, to escape my mounting to-do list, I went to the Dalian Forest Zoo. It was an all day event, as the zoo was MUCH larger than I anticipated. You could pay for a ride on a little train cart, but I saved my 20 kuai and walked around the entire zoo.
Super stoked for the elephant show!
I will admit that I had low expectations for the zoo, but was way better than I anticipated! Often in China, tourist attractions are less than stellar. They are usually overpriced and boring. The zoo was a pleasant surprise. The area was actually decently clean, and the animals seemed well taken care of. They had diverse animals, and even a great Elephant show. They had signs in English and Chinese, and a welcoming, smiling staff.
Squishing some volunteers (unfortunately I was not chosen!)
The biggest difference between a western zoo and a Chinese zoo was the tourists access to the animals. Zoo visitors were encouraged to pet the zebras, baby tigers and camels. The llamas were not even in cages, but rather were free to wander about as they wished. You should have seen how hungry the hyenas looked, leering out at the ambling llamas. I would not have wanted to see one wander too close to that area! You also could feed the animals, which is certainly strange to us. Not every guest was very respectful about tossing the food to the animals, and that was a bit frustrating. It was pretty impressive watching the monkeys leap to grab the tossed fruit, but I don't know that is enough to make it a good idea.
Did you know an elephant can do this? I sure didn't!
Doing some hula-hooping
All in all it was a great day at the zoo. The sun was shining. I was rocking a romper. School was out. What more could I have asked for? The only downside was that the panda exhibit was being re-done..so there were no pandas to be found. I guess I will need to go back next year to check them out!
Feeding the greedy llamas
Rhinos that look like they could easily smash that 4 foot wall
Many monkeys! I think they had every species!
The view from the cable car, Dalian's seaside
