Bearable Burdens

Today we went to the Shanghai Zoo.  Reviews we had read and others' experience had warned us not to expect much here.  Still, overall it wasn't as bad as I thought it would be.  The grounds and landscaping were really nice.  The animal's areas, as others had told us were in major need of renovation and repair.  There was a section called "Pets" which highlighted domesticated animals like dogs, farm animals, and giant rats (yes, I said giant rats, 2 feet long or more).  This section was not in good shape at all.  In fact, it felt more like an animal shelter than a zoo.  We had a good time, though, and Ginny fell asleep in the stroller we rented during our last few minutes there. (And a side note for those of you who've followed this blog for a while, they actually had a Rottweiler in this zoo.  If you recall this post, I thought it was a weird coincidence based on the dream I had before this trip.  See this post:  http://bridgesfamilynet.blogspot.com/2010/10/one-crazy-dream.html )

For lunch, our guide dropped us off at a restaurant our Shanghai friends had told us about - Mallone's American Cafe.  Supposedly they were serving a traditional American Thanksgiving Dinner, but when our guide called, they only did that at supper, and you had to have had a reservation at least a month in advance, apparantly it's pretty popular.  Still, lunch was first come first served, and we had delicious burgers and sandwiches with soup and salad, for relatively reasonable prices.  It was a hefty walk back to the hotel from that spot, but worth it. 

The rest of the afternoon we just chilled, well, for the most part.  Ginny had a couple of very intense tantrums today.  One on the way back from the restaurant, and the other when we got back to the hotel.  And I tell you one thing, that girl can throw a Acadamy award winning tantrum complete with flailing arms and kicking legs.  This tantrum was set off because we wouldn't let her go run down the hall in just her diaper.  She's learning, though, that certain priviledges require certain things, and eventually the enticement for play overrode the stubborn streak (no pun intended). 

On the plus side today, Ginny let me (Chris) do a few things that she's been hesitant to do in the past few days, such as help her change clothes, and even feed her a meal.  Still, she's still premdominately mommy or nothing.  The other interesting thing is that she actually went to the bag of diapers and pointed when she had a dirty diaper today.  We didn't understand why she was doing that at first, but were amazed she knew what was going on and what to do about it.  Even we forget that she's a toddler sometimes despite her appearance!

Tomorrow is our last day in Shanghai.  Our original flight to Guangzhou tomorrow was cancelled, but our guide told us we were now on an earlier flight out, which we're glad for.  I'll miss Shanghai, but am honestly glad for a change of scenery. 

Another bizarre safety sign at the zoo that says "Freight Check".  I'm thinking they just don't want you to climp the fence, but it got lost in translation.  :)