Beauty and the Beast

In the last few days I’ve often found myself humming the opening song of Beauty and the Beast. It makes me smile and love my life here even more. Let’s take a closer look at why this song sums up my life right now so nicely.

“Little town, it’s a quiet village” – Yep, it’s little. It’s a village. And it’s definitely quieter than the busy village I was living in before.

“Every day, like the one before” - Ok so I haven’t started working yet, and the kids are out of school so I’ve just been getting myself set up here. But, once I get to teaching and in a routine, I imagine this line will ring true, too.

“Little town, full of little people” – well, I’m tall, so… that would make other people little. Or, at least littler than me. And actually, my counterpart is quite short. She’s adorable.

“Waking up to say….” – Alright, here’s about where the similarities start to end. The people don’t really say anything out on the streets. Especially to strangers like me. And if they were to say something, it wouldn’t be bonjour. That’d be weird. But when I see students they do say “hello” as opposed to “strast” so… yeah, I guess if I were a French teacher then it’d be ok.
And then there’s the whole bit with the people talking about Belle and how strange she is and how she doesn’t fit in…

“Look, there she goes, the girl who’s so peculiar” – I try to blend in! I’m now wearing a big fur coat, a hat and scarf from here in Kazakhstan, and I’m in the North, which is noticeably more Russian. And yet, I still seem to stick out sometimes. I always feel good when someone walks up to me and asks me a question in Russian. Unfortunately, my cover is blown as soon as I open my mouth.
“Look there she goes the girl who’s strange yet special… it’s a pity and a sin, she doesn’t quite fit in, she really is a funny girl, a beauty but a funny girl” – yeah, I’m pretty sure that’s about what they’re thinking. Especially the beauty part (Humor me!). :)

Ok, this is weird… Beauty and the Beast is probably my favorite Disney princess movie (unless I’m watching Cinderella). I didn’t bring the movie with me, but a friend here had it on her hard drive, so I, uh, borrowed it. Anyway, I was just skipping around watching my favorite parts, and there’s a whole song in here that I’ve never seen/heard before! It’s all the servants (brooms/dishes/furniture) dancing around and cleaning while singing about how they can’t wait to be human again. I thought I was going crazy and just not remembering it – it has been a while – but then it cut to a scene of Belle reading Romeo and Juliet to the Beast. Pretty sure I would remember that! This must be a special edition or something. Anyway, I thought it was cool! It makes me happy!