More Zoo

So that previous post was turning into a short novel; I had to break it up into more than one day! 
After visiting the jungle, we went to see the giraffes.  Lauren just finished reading the book "The White Elephant" about a mystical giraffe and a young girl with the power to heal it and other animals.  Of course, she is obsessed with it now, and was really looking forward to going to see the giraffes.  There were 3 calves playing outside, frolicking around in the snow, obviously a little flustered when they put their muzzles into the cold snow.  We watched the zookeepers exercise the elephants, then went into the Africa building.  They were hosing out the rhino, elephant and hippo enclosures, moving the animals around to vacate the different spaces for cleaning.  It was great timing - interesting to watch.  However, here's our interesting fact for the day: Rhinos mark their territory, much like dogs.  Every single time their space is hosed down, they re-mark it.  With their urine.  Which is white, like milk.  And is forcefully sprayed, much like a small fire hose, and will spray the people standing near the exhibit.  Ick.
I much preferred the giraffes.

This is my favorite giraffe picture from our visit!
So after the rhino experience, we went to see the chimp and orangutan exhibit.  This wound up being, by far, Lauren's favorite part of the day.  There was an orangutan sitting beside the glass in the indoor area.  It was hunched over and appeared terribly bored.  No one else was around, so there was room for Lauren to go sit in front of the glass, right beside it.  She spent about 30 minutes looking at him, sitting so that she mirrored him, showing him her stuffed owl, putting her hands up beside his, etc.  It was moving to watch her try to communicate with him, and it was fascinating to see how similar they were - they were almost exactly the same size.  When I stood near her, her reflection in the glass exactly fell over him - it was almost eerie.  She was teary by the time we left; really moved by how human he seemed, his eyelashes when he studied her, the way he did things with his hands that we do, too.

I always wonder how much the experiences she has now will shape her life later. I remember things that happened to me when I was her age.  I wonder if she'll remember this, or other things she is exposed to - art, different cultures, choices she sees others make, music, different cities and states and landscapes... I know that pretty much every girl her age says that they want to be a veterinarian, and that is her current belief, as well.  I wonder how much her experiences with animals in the past year will influence her - puppies, helping the vet with surgery, the orangutan, the fox, etc. One of the things I feel strongly about as a parent is giving her some exposure to cultures/choices/artwork/hobbies/quirks that are atypical in our area, so that she knows there is a big wide diverse world out there for her to explore, and so that she doesn't feel like she has to conform to what is typical here in our little farming community in Kansas.