Lions, Tigers, and Meerkats...OH MY!

The day started in the hospital, Beni took the day off for some needed testing...since he's not a fan of me spilling every personal detail of our lives, I will leave out the specifics of his visit.  He asked me to go with him since his english is not what anyone would call perfect.  He has taken to using me as the official translater of all things important, a role that I get with at times...but then I remember that it is not his fault.

I have never seen him flinch but he was increasingly nervous as we walked through the maze that is a British hospital.  Free healthcare is wonderful at times but Whipping Cross Hospital leaves a lot to be desired.  The smell instantly made me nauseous, like any hospital, it smelled of bleach and stale sickness.  Neon signs of Junctions and Waiting Cooriders pointed the way through an institution maze.  Visibly shaken, Beni looked at me for help translating the quick and medical speech of his doctor.  As I struggled to explain, I grew increasingly angry at the doctor who never paused for clarity, except for once to say, "Are you understanding me?"

Clearly disappointed in himself for his comphrension skills, Beni and I left to try to make the most of his rare day off.  And nothing brightens the mood better than cuddly animals...ok Lions aren't cuddly but Meerkats could be.

We headed to the London Zoo in Regents Park.  We headed to the Wild Dogs and Boars first, I couldn't help but to laugh at all the animals Beni said they had in Albania, a few of them he said they usually shot and ate....how wonderfully caveman of him.  I raced to the Meerkats, anyone who has become obsessed with Meerkat Manor knows how damn cute these little fuckers are!  I watched them for 20 minutes, burrowing and scampering around their cage.....I want a meerkat!!  They seem way better than normal pets!  Not to mention they have the cutest little faces I have ever seen!

We spent the next couple hours watching lazy gorrilas, playful monkeys, and pissing lions.  The only thing we wanted to see almost as much as meerkats were the tigers, unfortunately they only had one and it was being a lazy bastard and sleeping.  The London zoo is a good time but I was surprised at how small it was, there were a lot of animals that I was surprised we didn't see...no elephants, panda bears, polar beers, and lots of other fun beasts.

After the zoo, I took the poor possibly sick boy out to lunch then for some drinks with my classmates.  Hopefully his next day off won't start surrounded by sick people but he was a happy camper by the end.