Home, Sweet Home

It is always a well-established fact that foreigners who come to Japan for employment, particularly those from America, the UK or Australia, are treated rather well by their employers-at least in terms of giving them ample facilities and lessening the drudgeries of settling down in alien town. And although I had already seen and experienced enough to have an opinion on either side of the spectrum in this statement, nothing prepared me for the palatial mansion I was `given` when I arrived in my new town and job. I expected to be let into a miniscule apartment straight out of Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs once again, with bathrooms where I could fit my arm span into and kitchens that would require me to squat in order to reach the gas stove; but imagine my pleasant surprise when I walked into what once must have housed an entire family tree...!
There were enough rooms to play hide and seek in and never get found, closets and cabinets that could have stored your entire loot from the Spanish Main, and even had the whole Zen rock garden, to boot! Obviously, this mansion had been constructed by/for some genetic anomalies; the rooms are all too normal-sized (by my standards, needless to say) for it to be otherwise!
I was thrilled beyond bounds; it was the best thing I had happen to me in a lon~g time...so even though I came here with the intention of spending less time at home and more outdoors/exploring the nearby cities and towns, I can`t help myself-I want to be the homebody now.....cooking in the full range kitchen that would seat a good 10 people comfortably, or mucking about in the rock garden...Although the real reason that`s keeping me from actually venturing out and seeing the sights of great cities such as Osaka, Kobe, Kyoto, Nara and Himeji (another unbelievable piece of luck-my proximity to more than half of Japan`s wonders!) is the age old excuse once again-shortage of funds, I don`t know if I will have the heart to stay out and miss becoming one with the house..!(God, I have spent too much time in California-listen to that psychobabble!!)

I did however drag my behind out a couple weeks ago and did a quick jaunt around Kobe, and these were what I got from a day in one of the most gorgeous cities I have ever visited:
1. Kobe is a combination of Old World Western charm and the delicacy of Japanese aestheticism. It is one of the most sophisticated cities in the world, with a flair for the arts, and cuisine.
2. Kobe is probably the most `international` city in Japan; with more people well-versed in World cultures and history, multi-lingual Japanese who have experienced other countries, and associations pertaining to international relations-from French chefs to Russian Delegates-than anywhere else in Japan.
3. Kobe lies right smack in between the mountains and the sea, much like San Francisco, with the result of being home to some of the most breath taking views in the country.
4. Much of the city was destroyed in the 1995 Earthquake (of a 7.2 magnitude), but it was all reconstructed perfectly to the last brick-no surprise, really; after all, we are talking about the Phoenix that rose from the ashes of Hiroshima and Nagasaki during WW II here.
5. One of Kobe`s main hangout/shopping/Kodak Moment areas, Harborland, houses the Meriken Park, where a small memorial commemorates the many lives lost in the port area due to the earthquake. It includes a short, damaged waterfront section which has been preserved as a reminder of the earthquake's tremendous, destructive power.
6. Kobe still retains the Old Foreign Settlement, where many of the foreign delegates` houses from the last century are still preserved. There is a great French-Vietnamese restaurant here, which once used to be the residence of the American Ambassador in the early XXth century. It was fabulous!
7. Kobe has the largest number of 2nd~ generation Indians in Japan. Shivers of excitement went through me (for whatever reason) when I was in a store and overheard some young boys cracking jokes racously in Japanese-2 of the 5 were Indians! It was the first time for me to come across Indian-Japanese (if that`s what they`re called), and I was intrigued. Of course, all I could do was stare.

More to come on Kobe, don`t change the channel!

I love my new place. It really feels like home. I am hoping I will make some friends soon and indulge in yet another passion of mine-entertaining. All in due time. For now, I am concentrating on combining my energies with those of the house...did I mention, I`ve stayed in California for longer than it`s good for me...?