Catching the Magic: We're Going to the Zoo!

Wednesday---

Today was field trip day!!! I love field trips! Not only are the kids allowed to get out of the center, but it is less programming and something new and exciting for them to do. The zoo we went to was an hour bus ride, but that went surprisingly fast. None of the kids got sick until we got to the zoo, and then one of them got off with the counselor right away and threw up (which they just call getting sick). They thought it was funny when we asked him if he was okay since he threw up...almost as if were were speaking a foreign language to him or something. The zoo was very different, with the path at the parking lot winding up a large hill, making it quite a walk for the kiddos before we had even gotten to the entrance.

Once we got there, we went straight into the dolphin show! It was a surprisingly small arena type facility, only seating about a thousand people, if that. The tank was also rather small, but once the show started, I knew it was going to be different. First of all, the instructor spoke exclusively in German (of course) and the dolphins actually did tricks that the American shows don't! I was a bit shocked, but it was neat to see what other things dolphins can do. After the dolphin show, we sought shade for lunch under a large tree, however, that failed us miserably. First of all, my lunch was just odd. By odd, I mean ODD! It was coleslaw with mayo, butter and grated mozzarella cheese. It is definitely something that I will never eat again. Secondly, we were all sitting on the ground, which some of the kids did not like, and thirdly, there were constant swarms of bees that would stop by every once and a while to pay us a visit. Let's just say that I was spending more time swatting bees away from fidgety screaming children than inhaling my lunch. We also happened to have two separate injuries during lunch that required band-aids (here they are called plasters). I turned to the staff member that had been sent along with us, since I had been notified beforehand that they would be carrying the field trip backpack (here called a knapsack). After asking, however, she looked at me and said that she didn't and only had her stuff. This was horrible, because that meant that I had to run to the entrance and try to translate to the German-speaking worker that didn't really know what I was doing, so I had to act out what I needed. Then he had to bring out a long bandage and have me cut off what I wanted, and then run back. By the time I made it back, one of the counselors had found a band-aid in their bag. Of course.

After lunch was better, because we broke off into small groups to see the animals. My group ended up going through a part that looked a bit like asia, winding past some odd looking deer, gorillas and then into the monkey house, with orangutans and other primates. It had a similar feel to the Henry Doorly, but at the same time, it was a bit different. One thing that was cool within this building was that there were ropes that went overhead where we could walk, and that was the path the two-toed sloth could walk overhead without any netting or guards from people...it definitely made it seem like we were in the primate house with the animals rather than simply walking through it. We managed to see a few more things while we were there, but then, before we knew it, it was time to load up the bus and go back! Many of the campers passed out on the way back, but the others sang camp songs, wanted to take silly photos and record 'music videos.' If only I could put them on the internet, because then you could truly see how adorable these children are with their little accents and all. Unfortunately Camp does not allow us to do that (which I completely understand and intend to follow).

After camp, we wanted to make an attempt at going into town (Monchengladbach) to go to the train station to get ticket reservations for our up and coming trips. When we got back to Cassel's House to change our clothes it was getting hot and was actually sunny outside! We put on t-shirts and shorts to go into town and went to the bus stop to wait for the bus and take the 40 minute bus ride to Monchengladbach. As soon as we got off of the bus, it started to rain. When it rains in Germany, it basically comes out of nowhere...and pours. As if someone were to dump a bucket of water on your head. Of course we did not bring jackets or umbrellas with us because it had been sunny :( We made it into the train station and waited in line for about half and hour to get up to the counter and make reservations. As soon as the woman had put in the information for our trip, there was a really loud clap of thunder and the lights flickered in the station. This caused the computers to glitch and the internet to quit working on the computer system that looked up the reservations. This meant that we were unable to look up any reservations that night.

We ended up walking around the main street of Monchengladbach because we had about an hour and a half until the next bus arrived. We went to a pretzel and pizza store called Ditsch, which had delicious long pizzas shaped like loaves of bread and ginormous pretzels! We also went into H&M, where I found an incredibly American/British jacket that looked like it was from the 80's as well as a dress and long shirt (which I ended up buying)...not the jacket, just the cute things they had, of course ;) We ended up getting back on the bus and back to base in one piece, which was a good end to our rocky day!

Also, I realized that I have now seen a dolphin show on three continents in the last year! Japan, USA and Germany :)