Cinderella

Rafaela.. Cinderella, Rafaela.. Cinderella. Sounds a little similar, right? And it's not just in the name. Recently I've felt like quite the Cinderella.. Only in this story my name is Fala.

So, how come I feel like I'm in Cinderella's shoes? Has my time in Disneyland Shanghai gone to my head? Not quite, though my time there did make me want to run away screaming - imagine Disneyland packed with Chinese tourists plus a bored, crying kid who's not allowed to go on any rides.

A link to Gone To My Head, for the music lovers

The reason I feel like I've stepped into Cinderella's shoes lies somewhere else. Why do I feel like I can relate to Cinderella? Or to stick with the theme: where does the shoe pinch? In short, it can be summed up in the following points:

• I live in a tower
• I get summoned (and quick please!)
• My hair is blond (yes, really)
• I receive orders, not from my step-mum and -sisters, but host-mum and little host-sister

Now, I don't want to make it sound like I'm as unfortunate as Cinderella. I get to go out by myself, be it not after 9 pm. I don't have to clean that much. In my tower there is actually a housemaid who gets ordered to clean (although she also has certain things she requires from me). So far I haven't sung to birds or talked to mice either.. But who knows, maybe I will find my prince charming here?

Still, the following lyrics sound rather familiar:

Cinderelly Cinderelly

Night and day it's Cinderelly

Make the fire!

Fix the breakfast!

Wash the dishes!

Do the mopping!

And the sweeping and the dusting!

They always keep me hopping!

She goes around in circles till she's very, very dizzy

Still they holler, keep her busy Cinderelly!

My step.. host-mum is particularly good at giving me orders. It's pretty much all she says to me. Carry my bag, get the bowls and chop sticks, wash the clothes - and quick! My little host-sister is following her mum's - and in a way dad's - example quite well. Nearly every day I hear "Fala, come! Quickly!"  "Give me water, get me paper!" I could barely believe my ears the first days, but fortunately my little sister is already learning to follow my example too at times. The hopping and going around in circles is familiar too, though thankfully in my case it's hopping like a frog and twirling like a princess. Dizzying, but fun ;)

Speaking of shoes, however, I should not forget to put myself in someone else's shoes. I've learned by now that my host-mum had a very similar upbringing as she is giving her kid now. It doesn't make it right to treat people like a servant, but it does explain a lot. What's more, I'm not the only one receiving orders. So far I've seen my host-mum's husband, sister, brother-in-law, and niece carry stuff, clean the dishes, and answer the door. Now it's just a matter of deciding to what extent I will step into these shoes..

How this "fairy tale" will end, we have yet to see. I don't expect to see a magic pumpkin coach - even with all the Halloween pumpkins popping around here. (Who knew Halloween was this popular in China?) To wrap things up, I would like to end with the opening lines of Cinderella. I know it's a little far-fetched, but it nevertheless sounds a little similar, right?

Once upon a time in a faraway land, there was a tiny kingdom;

peaceful (?), prosperous, and rich in romance and tradition.

Here in a stately chateau, there lived a widowed gentleman,

and his little daughter, Cinderella.

Although he was a kind and devoted father,

and gave his beloved child every luxury and comfort,  

still, he felt she needed a mother's care.

And so he married again, choosing for his second wife,

a woman of good family, with two daughters just Cinderella's age,  

by name, Anastasia and Drizella. It was upon the untimely death of this good man,

however, that the stepmother's true nature was revealed:

cold, cruel, and bitterly jealous of Cinderella's charm and beauty,

she was grimly determined to forward the interests of her own two awkward daughters.

Thus, as time went by, the chateau fell into disrepair,

for the family fortunes were squandered upon the vain and selfish stepsisters

while Cinderella was abused, humiliated, and finally forced to become a servant in her own house. And yet, through it all, Cinderella remained ever gentle and kind,

for with each dawn she found new hope that someday her dreams of happiness would come true.