A trip to the zoo

Noah had his first trip to the zoo not long ago.  He was quite apprehensive to say the least when we told him we were going .  In his mind he had conjured up the notion that the zoo had wild animals walking around.  He was worried we would turn a corner and run into a lion.  It took a lot of convincing to make him believe the zoo was a safe and fun place.  I think what I loved the most about the trip was that he could care less about the things my kids go wild over and he went crazy over the animals my kids see, experience, and take for granted in the Pacific Northwest.  For instance...we live very close to the Oregon coast.  My kids have grown up visiting family who live on the Pacific Ocean.  Sea lions, otter, star fish, and other marine wildlife are just kind of ho hum to them.  But when Noah entered the underground viewing area for the sea lions he just about jumped out of his coat with excitement.  The sea lions were performing for us...so they would swim right up to the glass and rub against the window.  This absolutely excited Noah to no means.  He could  have sat their all day...but it was only the first stop of the afternoon.  We had a lot  more to see.  We walked a little farther down the zoo path to the primate exhibit.  The group of little boys I took with me for the afternoon were beyond  excited...mimicking the monkeys...walking around like baboons etc.  Noah just stood in  his place,  on the verge of a yawn.  He saw monkeys in Ethiopia all the time.  He had a band of baboons come into his shack and tear it apart.  He says his aunt beat them off with a stick.  Crazy how this world  is.   An American kid's excitement is an Ethiopian kid's tormentor.  Noah just couldn't understand how come all the boys loved those monkeys because they are nothing but trouble where he came from.