Paola July Visit, Part 18 - Refreshment Break

July Visit, Part 18 - Refreshment Break
It was nearly 2pm when we exited the aquarium. I was grateful to Marcela for not taking Rosa's desire to be home early too seriously. Rosa had no way of telling the time, so Marcela must have decided that it would be good enough to let her know when it was actually 2:00, rather than have us leave at 1:15 so we could make it back to the home by that time. I wasn't about to complain!

Fortunately, Rosa had succumbed to the zoo's lure, and she agreed that we could stay long enough to see an hourly "show" that we had missed earlier in the day. We had 15 minutes before the next show time, so I asked if anybody wanted a fruity ice drink from a nearby refreshment stand. I bought drinks for Paola's family, but the CI staff all declined the offer - I'm not sure why, since sponsors are (naturally) expected to feed the reps who assist them with their visit. Maybe Marcela, Fernando, and Elsa knew that the beverages would be sickeningly sweet. I sure couldn't drink mine!

Here is something interesting to note about Paola and Tomasa: They never asked for ANYTHING. Many of the zoo attractions forced us to exit through a gift shop, and I always expected the girls to be drawn to the toys and stuffed animals ... but they didn't touch, beg for, or even LOOK at the merchandise. I don't know how long it had been since they'd last had a meal, but the kids showed no interest in the food or ice cream stands that we passed - until I offered, that is. The family definitely enjoyed their super-sweet fruit drinks.

Later, on the way out of the zoo - and past more gift shops - I asked Marcela if we shouldn't buy something for each of the girls. She told me it wasn't necessary, as we had already done so much for them. Since the kids weren't asking for anything (unlike every other child I've ever known), I took Marcela's advice and saved my money. Tomasa and Paola need to learn that the squeaky wheel gets the grease!