We’ve only been here two weeks, so we still feel a bit like tourists. There are so many things to do and see here in Beijing. With my little brother being ten and right in between my own boys in age, we decided to take all three to the zoo!

The trek there was not an easy task. This is not like home, where we all get to hop in the air conditioned car and drive wherever we need to go. We had to research the subway lines and determine exactly where to switch in order to reach our destination. Getting to the zoo required three subway lines and about an hour of travel….did I mention we were taking three boys?

It was an adventure, nonetheless. We decided to eat “Chinese fast food” within the park. So we popped a squat like the locals and chowed down. Suddenly, we felt as if we had become a part of the attraction. People stopping to stare at us as we ate. Apparently, it is uncommon for us foreigners to eat this way. Oh well, when in Rome, right?

We had a few moments walking from the subway station to the zoo and back where we thought we were lost, we just smiled and kept walking, praying that we would figure it out. The boys be-bopped in front of us clueless that Gaby and I were sweating bullets behind them! But, all in all, the day was a success!

You may observe that there are no pictures of the actual animals. We did make it into the panda house and I was able to grab a shot of one of the pandas. But, the rest of the animals were in sad shape. And that’s all I’ll say about that.