{"id":81438,"date":"2017-11-02T09:37:51","date_gmt":"2017-11-02T08:37:51","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.erasmusmagazine.nl\/en\/?p=81438"},"modified":"2025-12-19T11:22:53","modified_gmt":"2025-12-19T10:22:53","slug":"you-may-be-surprised-by-this-but-i-really-dont-know-anything-about-the-hague","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.erasmusmagazine.nl\/en\/2017\/11\/02\/you-may-be-surprised-by-this-but-i-really-dont-know-anything-about-the-hague\/","title":{"rendered":"‘I really don\u2019t know anything about The Hague’"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"\"

You can always find Cape Kasahara somewhere within the ISS.<\/span><\/p>

\n\t\n\n<\/svg>\n<\/span>\n\tImage by:<\/span>\n\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\tIvar Laanen<\/a>\t\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t<\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>

Just a stone\u2019s throw away from the Dutch parliament is the most remote of the Erasmus schools: the International Institute of Social Studies, a graduate school made up of mostly international students. So who will you run into when you wander around the school? This time around, we got to know PhD student Shigehisa (Cape) Kasahara.<\/p>\n

If you don\u2019t mind me asking, how old are you?<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m a very relaxed person, I don\u2019t mind. I\u2019m 64 at the moment.\u201d<\/p>\n

How did you end up at the ISS?<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cI moved from Japan to the U.S. to do my undergraduate studies at the State University of Michigan and my graduate studies at the American University in Washington. In the middle of my PhD program I got my first job offer at the World Health Organization so I jumped into it. That was in 1981. Later on, I had finished all the classwork for my PhD studies in economics when I received an announcement about the United Nations competitive exam for employment. I took it, passed it, and started working for the UN in 1987. My PhD was in suspension, but now I\u2019ve been here since 2014 to finally finish off what I had once started.\u201d<\/p>\n

How do you like it in The Hague?<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cYou may be surprised by this, but I really don\u2019t know anything about The Hague. My colleagues always say \u2018Cape, you don\u2019t anything about your own city\u2019. It\u2019s true, because I\u2019m always in my office. I probably stay in my office ten to thirteen hours a day.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\t

\n\t\t
\n\t\t\t
\n\t
\n\t\t\u2018Time is a luxury to me, so I must economize every moment that I have left over\u2019\n\t<\/blockquote>\n\n\t<\/figure>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t<\/div>\n

You\u2019ve been here since 2014. How have you not seen the city yet?<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cI have a lot to catch up on you guys. I am too much in a bureaucracy, and I cannot afford to have time. Time is a luxury to me, so I must economize every moment that I have left over. I live just 100 meters from here. Most of my time is spent within these 100 meters. I\u2019m not even sure about the public transportation system.\u201d<\/p>\n

Have you tried biking yet?<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cI did, but then I realized I have no where I need to go. That\u2019s just how I am.\u201d<\/p>\n

Since you are inside all day, the Dutch weather doesn\u2019t bother you, right?<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cOh it does. I don\u2019t always notice the outside weather, but I still need to go outside take a break sometimes. The climate over here is just, in a way, very depressing. I know it\u2019s not a good idea to start bitchin\u2019 about my host country\u2019s weather, but I cannot help it.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\t

\n\t\t\t\t\t

De redactie<\/h2>\n\t\t\n\t\t
\n\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t