Day 12: Safari Zoo, Typhoon, Papa John's!

Today has been an amazing day for our little family....I can't explain it, something has "clicked" and it just felt right....more "normal", more relaxed and not stressful. Benjamin had his best day yet...and it wasn't an easy day to be "good"! He's learning to trust us more and comprehend a lot more of what we say. Waiting, patience and communication are still his biggest challenges...but it's getting better day by day. John, our guide, commented he has never seen a 2 year old with such a good English vocabulary and the ability to understand and communicate with his new family. He's such a smart lil guy!!!

It's little things....like, Ben is beginning to understand that breakfast WILL be served, albeit not the millisecond we enter the restaurant! LOL! He also wants to do "big boy" stuff like Sam (hold an iPad, bumper cars at the Zoo, etc.) and that's sometimes difficult for us to explain to him. We think he's beginning to realize this is the real deal....and he kind of likes it! We realize we have a long road ahead of us but his behavior and cuteness today were beyond normal for even the best behaved 2 1/2 year old. :)

We slept in until 7:30 a.m. and had to meet John at 9:30 a.m. for the Safari Zoo tour. LOVE the White Swan breakfast - where else can you find pizza and dim sum for breakfast?! Ben had congee again but was more interested in the noodles and scrambled eggs today. Still no fruits besides bananas. We met another family from Green Bay, Wisconsin...adopting their 2nd girl. Their first girl, Anna, is 7 1/2 and they waited over 5 years for their 2nd girl, Claire (age 18 mos.). She was absolutely precious. Ben and Claire were flirting with each other all during breakfast...soooo cute. BenBen was blowing her kisses! Such a ladies man! They were headed to Hong Kong this afternoon and on to Detroit then Green Bay. Very nice couple. The mom even commented how impressed she was when Sam (of all people!!!!) held the door open for her on the way back from the restrooms!! We've been working on that for years!! So proud of him!

The weather forecast today was rain (which we knew yesterday when we arranged the tour) but we decided to take the chance and head to the Safari Zoo Park anyway. We figured, how long can it rain, seriously? 

Hmmmm.....not a good sign when we pulled into the Safari parking lot and NO ONE was there!!! It was like the Wally World scene out of Chevy Chase's "Vacation"!!! Oh well.....

We brought umbrellas, were already there and decided to give it a try. The temps were perfect....overcast, breezy and mid-80's. We entered the park and headed straight to the Safari tram tour. No wait (of course!)...normally, families can wait for hours. It was spectacular!!!! Worth the price of admission alone! I've never seen the variety, quantity or quality (i.e. animals you really want to see!) in any Zoo, let alone a tram driving right next to the animals! It was awesome. Ben "ooohhed" and "ahhhhhhed" over every animal....until he lost interest about 3/4 of the way thru and started playing with the Kleenex package he took from the hotel.

It also started to rain (or as John likes to call it - "typhoon") during our tram tour and despite a nearly torrential downpour for 80-90% of our entire visit, it was wonderful!!!!!! We were all soaking wet, BenBen would not lean back in the stroller and cover himself with the stroller hood - he sat up as far as he could enjoying ever bit of the rain!! He just rolled with it....pants/diaper soaking wet. No worries. This kid has come a LONG way in 10 short days!!!

We were also pleasantly surprised that BenBen wasn't scared once - not even a tiny bit - of any of the "characters" in the park (Koala, Panda) that approached him. He gave 'em high fives, blew them kisses, shook their hands. I guess if everything in your world is new, what's one more thing?!!

Greg took a zillion photos (ok, actually 650!!!) and they are seriously worth viewing. Amazing. Greg said it was "the best place he's ever been to in his entire life"....seriously, it was that cool!!! Well, he did just drink a HUGE Chinese beer, so who knows?!

The park was beautiful, clean, friendly - on a Disney World level! The bathrooms had changing tables (the first I've seen in China) and normal potties (with phones?). Each exhibit ended with a walk thru an amazing gift shop (sound familiar?!). We ate lunch at the "Koala Cafe"....Sam had french fries, something he thought was a hamburger but didn't touch and "chocolate milk tea"....which he didn't drink but Greg said it was great. We ordered a variety of Chinese dishes and Ben was in heaven. He's starting to eat slower and chew his food....knowing we aren't going to limit him. He always gives us the sign for "finished".

The day was so special....especially, if you're into animals. :) The Safari Zoo had 'em all...and LOTS of 'em up close and personal in ways we've never seen. It was so exciting to sit and watch 6 beautiful pandas being fed carrots...a mere 3 feet in front of us. No crowds....just us and a few Chinese people. Maybe it was because we had the park to ourselves....or running in the rain from exhibit to exhibit.....or maybe it was the bonding and fun and laughing with Ben - experiencing so many new things thru his little eyes.....it was so beautiful and serene and fun.

We saw parrot eggs "hatching", the only set of Koala twins in the world (soooooo cute!!!!), Sam fed 5 whole bananas to an elephant and we viewed dozens of white tigers, giraffes, elephants, kangaroos......and these amazing little monkeys. The park had amusement rides (included in the price) and many opportunities to ride elephants, hold a tiger or koala, etc. It's really a top notch place. BenBen likely experienced his first carousel ride, zoo visit and running outside in a complete downpour "typhoon" and loved it all!

Our guide, John, was terrific too!! He's 25 and comes from a Guangzhou family with 3 children. He's the baby and only boy. His family had to pay the Government money to have more than one child. His family is considered very large in China. We really enjoy him and he's soooo great with Ben. We told him we wanted him to come and live with us in the States and be our nanny! (...we think he was considering it!!).

We came back to the room soaking wet and exhausted. Sam and Ben took baths and watched movies for a while. BenBen was very sleepy and headed to bed around 5:30 p.m. He'll sleep thru the night - no nap today. We're ordering Papa John's for dinner....just too exhausted to leave the hotel and room service is crazy expensive at the White Swan.

Tomorrow is a "free day" so we've arranged to go souvenir shopping with Ann from Red Thread at 10:30 a.m. for a few hours. YAY!! Then, weather permitting, we'll swim in the afternoon or hang out in the hotel play room and perhaps try the Pearl River Cruise dinner in the evening. We're excited our 3 fellow FTIA families will be arriving tomorrow too!!! Can't wait to meet their new little blessings!