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.