Friday, January 13, 2012

My Patronus: A Sloth (January 10th)

The trip to the Hannover Zoo was probably the most exciting day for everyone! Who knew a bunch of twenty year olds could turn into a group of five year olds just by saying the word "zoo"?? Well we did. It looked like someone fed us pure sugar based on our excitement. I think we had most of the kids beat. I mean, we did have the height and the strength to take out any five year old in our way. But of course, we never had to resort to throwing some 'bows to knock the kids out of the way.

Anyways, after a tour of the vet school in Hannover the group made its way to the zoo. After Dr. Wasser and Nils calmed us down and threatened to not give me a ticket since I was too excited, I was allowed to see the animals. We started with a visit to Africa where we met a giraffe named George and his family. Next, we saw the lion family. After spending an hour in Africa (fastest trip to Africa EVER), we made a quick trip to the Yukon territory to visit the wolves, polar bears, seals, and caribou. We got VIP access to the polar bear show, which was pretty awesome. Then we got to visit the lovely hippos! The zookeeper let us go to the private area where they're normally fed, so we were super up close and personal. I felt a little bad because the hippos expected us to be the zookeepers there to feed them dinner But alas, we were just there to watch them for 30 minutes with no offering. I must say that they are really persistent animals. They sat there with their mouths open for at least 20 minutes before giving up and realizing we were food-less.

After our zookeeper tour-guide left us, we visited the rest of the park. The animals we saw included monkeys, birds, snakes, flamingos, wallabies, elephants, jaguars and many others! It was definitely one of the best days of the trip. This zoo was especially awesome because the animals all seemed so close to us. The park was very open and had low fences so seeing the animals was easy. It almost felt like you were in the habitat area with them. Going to the zoo brings out the inner child in everyone and is always a great time.

It was decided that the sloth is patronus. Someone made this discovery for me a few months ago and it just stuck. Apparently my monotone voice and my laid back demeanor reminds people of a sloth. And the fact that I'm definitely the slowest power walker on the trip doesn't weaken the comparison.

Going to the zoo should be a requirement for everyone. It just makes you happy.

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