AMHERST — A year ago during Halloween, Amherst Regional Middle School student Galileo Nkosi and a middle schooler from Kanegasaki, Japan, trick-or-treated in town, spent time at Yankee Candle and went to soccer practice together.
“It was really good. It was really fun,” said Galileo, reflecting on how the visitor from Amherst’s sister city in the Pacific Rim also insisted on going out to get a hamburger.
“We love having them here,” said Gazit Chaya Nkosi, Galileo’s parent. “It was really wonderful, a highlight.”
The Nkosis were among five families who offered to host the six Kanegasaki middle schoolers chosen to participate in the 36th delegation coming to Amherst.
Their recent visit, for a little more than two full days, kicked off with a welcoming celebration at Town Hall, after a tour of the Beneski Museum of Natural History at Amherst College.
“They are filled with anticipation for their days in Amherst,” said Daniel Degrasse, who, since 2011, has been part of the program housed at Kanegasaki’s Lifelong Learning Center. “A lot of investment and treasure we have with Kanegasaki.”
Degrasse said the students get a life-changing experience during their visit to Amherst.
“To have a chance to experience a home life in America, to make friends with someone their age, is a very powerful experience,” DeGrasse said.
During the event, Council President Lynn Griesemer, Town Manager Paul Bockelman and Superintendent E. Xiomara Herman greeted the students, who had the opportunity to sit in the chairs usually reserved for members of the Town Council.
The students then offered an overview of their community, showing off in a slideshow the Samurai houses and dairy farms and explaining the purpose of Heralbony, a company that licenses artwork from artists with disabilities. After each student spoke about their hometown, they then made personal introductions, offering phrases like “nice to meet you” and “I want to enjoy Halloween.” They then shook hands and were given welcome bags.
As they met their host families and the middle school students they would be spending time with, among those watching from the audience was Nancy Pagano, the retired Senior Center director, who was instrumental in building the friendship over the years.
“Kanegasaki was the highlight of my life for a long time,” Pagano said.
At-Large Councilor Andy Steinberg was also present, reflecting on his visit to Japan in 2015 as a member of the town’s Select Board.
During their time in Amherst, the students were expected to go to the Emily Dickinson Museum and Amherst Farmers Market and other area attractions, closing with a dinner at a University of Massachusetts dining hall.
As they began departing from Town Hall with their luggage, Galileo said the family’s Japanese guest would be treated to tacos once they got home.
Another eighth grader, Elaina Bust, was getting to host two students this year, recalling that 2024 had been special.
“It was really cool,” Elaina said, adding that trick or treating was already being planned.
“It was a wonderful experience last year and we’re excited to have the opportunity again,” said parent Jamie Bust.
Both Jamie Bust and Gazit Chaya Nkosi, as returning families, said they are hopeful that Amherst students and other families might have a chance to be part of the resumption of exchanges. Those had begun in 1988, five years before the sister-city relationship was formalized. However, it’s been about two decades since Amherst sent a delegation. Kanegasaki has only paused the exchanges during the pandemic and before that in 2011, when the country was impacted by an earthquake and tsunami.
Herman said she wants to get a sense of the true cost for the exchanges and make it possible, while striving to ensure equity for those families who might not be able to afford the trip.
“I hope that we can have a true relationship, with Amherst coming to Kanegasaki,” Herman said. “I hope we can build that.”