I never thought I would live in a zoo, or even like the idea of that, but here I am, one of seven animals in this BarbieDreamhouse. Maybe even a petting zoo if you will. This zoo, though, has rotating enclosures.

You will never know what kind of animals you will see when you walk in.

Welcome to college roommates.

You could walk in… and bam, you’re in the barn, probably in the middle of a pig pen. This would probably be in early September, when cleaning seems kind of out of the picture between sports, school, work, and obviously, stayingsocial.

 Or probably at 3 a.m. on a Saturday night. Well, lets be real, Sunday morning.

You may have just the opposite. Sunday mornings… August… January all seem to be times where you maywalk into a sloth exhibit. Everything is clean, no one is to be found. They are probably hiding in their beds, super quiet and slow.

If you come on Saturday night, maybe a Friday, or ever so often, a one-day surprise, that is when the party animals will be out. Usually after dark. These are the days the neighbors complain about living next to a zoo (kind of theirfault though). This is probably the time where the zoo is most active, super messy, super loud. The animals go–crazy–for hours. Sometimes, zoo keepers have to come and to tell the animals to quiet down and give a reminder:

“You don’t actually live in a zoo?”

Sometimes you may randomly walk into the African exhibit and see a bunch of elephants crowding together after heartbreaking news or a loss. You can find these animals snuggled on the couch or herding together at the door when the last one comes home. Offering sanctuary and a shoulder to lean on or dramatically fall on. And always there to pick each other up and keep them grounded.

But more than likely, a stranger will experience just the opposite! Walk into a bunch of monkey, and this one is fun! They are all over the place– climbing on things, running around, playing tricks. Usually, one goes after the other, atthat point, it is a cycle and somehow, no one is safe. There is a lot of nonsense, a lot like when one monkey picks on another for fun but somehow everyone gets brought in. Sometimes it ends in one displaying dominance (AKA  pantsing each other. Yes, that is how we show dominance. Then there is just a lot of laughter and running… because dominance did not work, and suddenly everyone is pantsed.

This goes on for hours; you will never know when the sneak-attack/payback is coming. This is also the time when the monkeys get recorded the most, because watching it a second… third… fourth… and probably fifth time with tears in our eyes is always better than the first.

In the winter months, there may be a surprise special one or two-day arctic exhibit. These animals will be outside. Usually, everything is shut down, and the animals are told to stay inside the zoo, but they don’t listen and find a way to break free. The town tries to keep them captive because driving down the zoo hill covered in snow could actually be a cause of death. So the big parkas come out, we match the size of a polar bear. We will take a 4-mile walk to the nearest grocery store “for fun,” a keeper may stop us and tell us to get out of the road. But no one tells the polar bear what to do, so we keep on.

Sometimes the keepers may show up at night… the neighbors… called them again! Like literally four hours ago… the dung beetle thought she owned the neighborhood? She’s new to the zoo and didn’t realize the parking lot is–not–in front of the neighbor’s driveway!

Most of the time, you can walk into the bear’s den, Papa Bear is usually either cooking, cleaning, or fixing something for the cubs only a couple years younger than her… yes her… Papa–is–a–girl!

I don’t mind the zoo, I have actually grown to love the zoo. Though, my contract with the zoo ends soon. If youget the opportunity to live in a zoo, it is important to take pictures of all the animals, from the elephants to the party animals and everything in between. I hope whoever lives in my zoo next, loves it the same way I did.