A zoo is a zoo is a zoo is a zoo, right? That’s mostly true, although do you remember this sad excuse for a “zoo” that we stumbled upon in Benin? That was most certainly not a zoo. I’m not sure whether Guadalajara’s zoo is any better or worse than most, but that’s exactly the point. It’s a real zoo. We’re so excited to be in the sort of city that has a real zoo!

But the great thing about living somewhere like Guadalajara as an expat is that not only does it have pretty much anything one might want, like a real zoo, but a different economy is at work here. So you can buy the fancy package with all the extras — like a safari ride where you get to actually feed giraffes (see above) — for less than the cost of admission to a regular zoo in the U.S. Pretty cool.