Letter from Nanae: Indelible memories — and hopes for the future
The thing that meant the most to me in Japan was the people. Herein lies what makes our sister-city connection so special.
Over the years I spent living and working in Japan as the coordinator of international relations (CIR) for the Acton-Nanae sister-city relationship, I hosted a number of friends and relatives on their travels. Each time, I tried to judge how I’d “sold them” on Japan and the northern island of Hokkaido. That is to say, did I demonstrate to them, experientially, why I chose to spend nearly four years here?
For some of my friends, it was the views — the omnipresent snow-capped mountains and thick forests. For others, it was food or culture. But with many, in particular my parents, I found I struggled to articulate how and why my life in Nanae has meant so much to me.
Twice my parents came all the way from Acton to visit as part of other trips and to ski in the famous Hokkaido powder snow. Each time, I thought if I just took them to the right hidden-gem restaurant or showed them the coolest volcano, they would have some kind of eureka moment and say, “Actually, Jack, I see how Hokkaido means so much to you; you should stay here forever!”
The final chapter
Most recently, my parents arrived in Nanae on their way back from visiting family and friends in Australia, with the intention of helping me wrap up my life here in Japan. Their assistance was welcome; I accumulated a lot of random garbage in four years that all needed to be sorted and tossed. I have no doubt my successor will be grateful for the clean apartment I left behind thanks to their effort.
My mom loves sushi, so I took her around to all my favorite haunts. With each salmon sashimi or squid tempura, I thought I would surely hear the “Jack! Let’s stop all this packing and help get you a house in the Nanae countryside!” that I had been waiting for.
Predictably, the moment when my own parents thought it was a great idea for their only child to move 7,000 miles away permanently never came.
In late December was my goodbye party, credit for which I must give my boss, who organized the event. It was a heartwarming gathering of program members, exchange students, adult English class students, and community members. Over the next week came dinners and get-togethers with all the various characters I’ve gotten to know in the past four years.
It was while getting into the car after celebrating Christmas with my old host family that my mom finally mused, “Well, I suppose you could come back during the summers to teach English classes, if they’d let you.”
If you’ve read any of the other pieces I’ve written for The Acton Bridge about Nanae, you already know where I am going with this.
The thing that meant the most to me in Japan was the people — the community. Herein lies what makes our sister-city connection so special.
When you join as an exchange student, a host family, a CIR, or a community delegate, you are inheriting the goodwill and greater community forged over 25 years.
For that, we owe the prior generations that helped build this connection — figures like Acton’s Tom Curtin and Wilson Flight, who helped found the program and lead the first delegates. I’m also thinking of Acton-Carlisle High School’s Dr. Robin Cicchetti, my own former teacher who was a delegation leader when I was in high school.
Decades of evolution
Our program is getting older. I am the first CIR to have been born after its launch in 1997. Now, we are starting to lose that first generation of Nanae citizens and Concordians who were instrumental in creating something we have come to cherish.
On the other end of the spectrum, I had the pleasure of getting to know a third grader in Nanae who, after enjoying hosting a Acton Select Board member this past June, became one of the program’s most passionate participants. She made a flyer to recruit host families for the April high school band delegation and spoke at a host family information session. It has been absolutely heartwarming to see this next generation rise to the occasion at such an early age.
Finding host families
Heading back to Acton, and the amount of unknown has been a little terrifying. A part of me thought I would never leave Nanae until the moment I did. Certainly, I long to stay involved in the program, and it has made me turn my eye toward what we could be doing in Acton.
One of the biggest challenges we face every year is the hunt for host families. I think many people understandably shy away from the challenge, thinking their family life is too busy. But the reality is that whatever your needs, the Acton Nanae Network will support you, whether you need a driver for pickups or someone to take care of your student in the afternoon.
In my lifetime, interest in Japan has never been higher, yet I am surprised that this does not translate into interest in being a host. Rather, I think it is telling that most of our host families are immigrant Concordians — and not necessarily those keenly interested in Japan or Japanese culture. Perhaps these residents have the greatest excitement about building an international community or the most interest in sharing their experience.
We can continue making the relationship between Nanae and Acton rare and special, but like anything, this relationship is made up of people. There’s never a wrong time to express an interest in getting involved or being a host family. I say this as someone who has been on both sides this past year.
Saying my goodbyes in Nanae, I was reminded of my time as a child of the program, and of why it meant so much to me in the first place.
Jack Brox McCarthy has been living in Nanae, Acton’s sister city in Japan, as a teacher, cultural liaison, and town office worker.
