Escort a Pony

For the summer months, we are doing our very best to get off the Embassy compound as much as possible to see friends and this amazing city. But some days we stay put. A good friend of mine arranged a co-op for the summer where we plan group activities and take turns organizing. Each Friday is designed to be an in-Embassy field trip. These tours include the Diplomatic Post Office, the Medical Unit, and other regular offices that seem interesting to the kids. The tours last about thirty minutes and help us all to better appreciate this complex living/working situation.

First up was the groundskeeper. The day of the event, my friend was surprised to receive a phone call from this man requesting access for a pony. Now keep in mind this tour involved naming varieties of trees, explaining the significance of the floral arrangements, and other interesting facts. Who would think of a pony? Pavel would. Here is how the conversation played out.

"I wonder could we get in a pony?" he asked.

"I'm not sure. Can we even get access for a pony?" She replied.

"You can escort person, yes? Maybe one person can escort pony?"

At this point she was trying to stifle the laughter of such an hilarious request. Hilarious or not, a pony would be a good diversion for our hot, bored kids.

Because we knew about the details, the day lingered on endlessly. We passed the groundskeeper in the hallway and he grabbed the kids by the shoulders and encouraged them to come to the tour later. "It will be very fun," he promised. By noon, there was an email announcement sent to the general population so everyone would come out to see his special surprise.

It was nearly 90 degrees that day and at 3:30 in the afternoon, the kids were not entirely impressed with his olive branch design in the flowers, or that the trees in front of our house were half the size ten years ago.

They wanted to get to the good stuff.

Just as we were about to retreat for a water break, up walked a pony, saddled and ready for some fun. The kids quickly lined up to experience this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. Watching the kids smiling and giggling was entertaining, but watching Pavel was even better. He leaned up against a trash can with a satisfied look on his face and smiled. Who would out-do a pony?

For the rest of the summer, when we hype the tours inside our Embassy, our kids will ask, "Will there be a pony?" We will disappoint them by responding, "No pony at the Post Office today."

"What about at the Med Unit? Will there be a pony there?"

"No. No pony at the Med Unit."

Well done, Pavel. Well done.

The Circus

Last month my hubby's boss (whose children are all grown) volunteered to take us all to the circus just so he could witness the delight on the kids' faces. In Moscow there is the 'Old Circus' and the 'New Circus'. I'm not sure about the differences, but he suggested we attend 'Old Circus'. In the memories of my childhood, the circus is really no different than the carnival. It comes to town, does a few overpriced shows, and then tears down just as fast as it set up.

This place was different. The permanent building was circular with tiered seating all the way. You could see everything from everywhere. It felt like the show was just for you and you were practically close enough to touch the action. Before the show, they had some animals on display for photo ops. Our host indulged us with a photo with the tiger. The kids were thrilled! There were also dalmatians, elephants, birds, and other circus-y animals. Strangely enough, none of these animals were featured in that evening's show.

Anyway, my personal favorite was the very first act. The lady was an aerialist with a long, curtain-like rope. It was graceful, beautiful and I couldn't help but enjoy looking down the row at my kids' open mouths. The clown show was re-occurring and very funny! I'm pretty sure somewhere in the show they announced that he was from the US. That wasn't surprising since he counted using, one, two, and three, instead of adeen, dva, tree.

When the high-wire act began, I felt ready to be underwhelmed. One guy would walk across the line, then another. When the drummer began a drum-roll, the real action happened. The strongest man had one woman standing atop his head and another standing on his shoulders. Very slowly, they tiptoed across the line. The girls had safety lines, but the enormous man walked simply with his long pole. I felt like I couldn't breathe. I am sure I would never like to watch that live again!

There were horses, hoop-jumping dogs, a pirate clown and some dancing birds, and a live orchestra. I fully expected to simply tolerate the night, but I left thoroughly impressed and pleased.