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Ms. Casanova is originally from Tacloban City in the Philippines and has worked in, and conducted development management projects, all around the world. For example her career has taken her to the International Management Institute in Geneva, Switzerland and the United Nations Centre for Human Settlements in Nairobi, Kenya.
It was in April 1995 that she first came to Japan to work at the International Environmental Technology Centre, a facility located in between the two prefectures of Osaka and Shiga. The image she had of Japan prior to her arrival came from talking with friends and from books. So she had expected to encounter a highly conservative and densely populated country placing an almost excessive importance on its traditions. However, this image evaporated completely as she looked out at the highway and scenery from the limo bus taking her from Kansai International Airport to downtown Osaka. She saw highways in excellent repair, many modern high-rise buildings and well-organized office towns. She had not expected to see so few people walking on Osaka's streets. She wondered where everybody was! She knew that Osaka must be one of Asia's biggest cities with a very large population. It was not until she began working that she asked about this apparent absence of crowds. One of her Japanese colleagues led her to a subway station at the rush hour time for commuters. "I was amazed to find out that there were so many people moving about underground in the subways and subterranean shopping complexes. That was when I realized that Osaka actually has another city built underground", she told us. On almost a daily basis she found herself emailing friends back in the Philippines all about the surprises she was encountering in Japan during her first experiences of life in Japan.
Another of her pre-conceptions about Japan that also underwent a complete reversal concerned the kind of people she expected to meet in Kansai and their personality. She had thought that a people who value tradition so greatly might be a little unapproachable for anybody that does not speak Japanese. However, on the contrary, when she actually began to meet Japanese people regularly she found them very kind and easy to talk with. She went on to say. "Right now I am living in Otsu City in Shiga Prefecture. I'm commuting to Kusatsu City and this is a very nice place where the locals are clearly very close to one another and know how to live together in harmony. I have often seen elderly people talking to one another across the rail tracks even though they are on completely different platforms. Likewise you see housewives in the supermarkets happily chatting together while shopping at the same time. I can really feel the closeness and the gentle nature of people and their relationships here." She continued, "And I've found that the kindness people tend to extend to foreigners is not something affected. They do it open-heartedly". To illustrate her comments she recounted an episode she experienced soon after first arriving in Japan. She was at a loss about how to buy a train ticket and get to the right train. A man at the same station, who was obviously an office worker not able to speak a word of English, went to a lot of trouble to help her. Using gestures he accompanied her to the right train, even leading her by the hand at the end. "He must have been in a hurry himself but was kind enough to buy me my ticket using his own money and without hesitation." This was not the first (or the only) time Ms. Casanova has been offered a helping hand by people in Kansai. She sees this easy willingness to help as an instinctive reaction towards people in trouble. She talked about her good friend Mrs. Kojima, a kind neighbor she met when she was living temporarily in Toyonaka City. "She invited me to her house many times and taught me many things about life in Japan, such as how people live in all-tatami mat rooms. She showed me Japanese home-cooking and how to enjoy each of the four seasons. If I had to come home late from my work, she was only too glad to take care of my young daughter. Mrs. Kojima has become a kind of second mother to her."
Although Ms. Casanova is now well accustomed to living in Japan through socializing with neighbors such as Mrs. Kojima, she still enjoys experiencing the customs not found in other countries. "One thing that surprised me was learning that there are so many pairs of slippers worn in the Japanese home. Here, people first take off their shoes at the entrance and change into slippers. Then there are other slippers for the living room, kitchen and toilet. It occurred to me that this custom of continually changing slippers around the home helps illustrate why Japanese people are so methodical.
As a U.N.staff who has worked all over the world Ms. Casanova has observed the daily culture and character of the Japanese people with impressive acuteness while bringing a cheerful humor to the task. For example, by studying the orderliness of the public transportation system in the big cities like Osaka and Tokyo she observes how people here enable everything to operate smoothly through their almost instinctive understanding and empathy for multiple systems.
This insight into the way systems work is clearly related to Ms. Casanova's work and educational projects that teach developing countries how to use knowledge and technology towards better environmental protection. "People in Japan, who already place great pride on neatness and accuracy, are very receptive to the concepts of waste management. You can see that in the way they sort their garbage." She continued, "Shiga Prefecture has put a lot of effort into sustaining the water quality of Lake Biwa which is Kansai's essential 'water jar'. The various technologies developed here and the ability of the people that created them, and continue to manage them, will undoubtedly play a significant role in helping developing countries around the world." Ms. Casanova commented that one reason why UNEP-ITEC is located in Kansai can be attributed to the willingness of Kansai people to offer assistance to other people in trouble. This extends to the work of teaching developing countries how to use knowledge and technology for better environmental protection.
UNEP-IETC is situated on a small hill in Kusatsu City, Shiga Prefecture and faces the beautiful scenery of the Lake Biwa. It is a wonderful environment for the Centre. The writer asked Ms. Casanova how she spends her days when she finds time off from her busy duties as Deputy Director. She said, "I was living with my daughter in Toyonaka City, near Senri Chuo in Osaka for a couple of years when I first came to Japan. On my days off we often went to various places around Kansai such as Osaka Castle, the Osaka Aquarium (Kaiyukan) and Senri Expo '70 Commemoration Park. In fact my first view of Osaka Castle was from the room of a nearby hotel. I was staying there when I first visited Japan and it was a really magnificent sight and especially so because the cherry blossoms were out. I vividly remember the sense of Japanese tradition and history. It seemed like a scene in the movies."
Ms. Casanova was also very impressed by the old temples, architecture and gardens in Kyoto and Nara. "The famous temples and shrines. such as Kinkakuji Temple and Yasaka Shrine, are of course wonderful but there are also many other nice places in Kyoto as well. For example, to find an ancient cherry tree in full blossom at a temple or a quiet walking path in a bamboo grove, as I found in the Sagano area, can also be delightful sights. Nara too has many impressive places like Todaiji Temple, with its huge image of Buddha, the Kasuga Shrine and its charming pathway with tens of thousands of lanterns, and Nara Park with its tame deer."
Shiga Prefecture, where Ms. Casanova now lives and works, also has many attractions including Miidera Temple and the Miho Museum in Shigaraki. There are some cultural facilities in the same area as the UNEP-IETC such as the Lake Biwa Museum and Aquatic Botanical Garden (Forest of Water). "Miho Museum is great not just for the exhibits but also for its architecture and garden. These are integrated harmoniously with the surrounding environment. I personally like gardens where I can sit on a spacious expanse of turf and touch the plants that are in flower. But I also like the gardens designed for viewing and appreciation such as you see in temples and shrines." Ms. Casanova points out that additional enjoyment and excitement is brought to these famous spots and historical places from each seasonal change. She sees this cycle of dramatic change as another wonderful feature of Japan. "Spring has its own special attraction, summer and autumn too. Again, winter has its own qualities although, to be honest, I could do without the cold!"
Eating famous local delicacies when making local visits is another part of life in Kansai that she enjoys. She found the transition to Japanese food to be very natural as her own country in the Philippines is also an ocean country using very much the same kind of food ingredients. In particular she likes the variety of 'tofu' dishes available in Japan. "One restaurant I went to in Osaka specializes in tofu. There were just so many ways they prepare it and so many kinds of tofu, I could hardly believe the length of their menu. And it was all very tasty."
Ms. Casanova summed up Kansai as an area with a wide variety of famous locations, historical places, local dishes and kind people everywhere. The individual places retain their own unique character and culture while also being part of the whole that makes up Kansai. She likes the way Kansai has integrated its history and culture with the necessity of modern city development and the way the people have maintained their cheery friendliness. She added, "If possible, I want to remain in Kansai as long as my current work allows." Work for Ms. Casanova has been especially busy just recently so she has not been able to travel any significant distance on her days off. While this writer is glad to know that she is working hard to protect the global environment and promote international exchange, it would also be very nice to know that she can take more time off, pack a lunch box. The writer would gladly volunteer to show her around some of Kansai's other sightseeing attractions. When the guest is someone so engaging and convivial that is always a real honor and pleasure. |
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