Amelia Burns woke up at 5 a.m. to cook 30 cups of white rice.
The Thoreau Elementary School teacher was preparing for her fourth graders’ first attempt at making onigiri — Japanese rice balls — under the tutelage of students visiting Concord from its sister city, Nanae.
The delegation — which included a Nanae town official and an English teacher — arrived October 24 for a 10-day stay that featured stops at Concord schools to interact with their American counterparts. Emily Aldous, Concord Nanae Network’s coordinator of international relations, guided the group.
Thoreau Elementary School principal Justin Sparks, right, and kindergarteners, left, greet their guests. Next to Sparks is Concordian Emily Aldous, coordinator of international relations for the Town of Nanae, and some Nanae students. Photos: Ken McGagh/The Concord Bridge
Each student stayed with a host family in Concord. One Thoreau fourth grader said his family hosted a Nanae student to return a favor — his older brother traveled to Japan last year with the Concord-Carlisle High School band, which visits Nanae every four years.
“I think Concord has one of the strongest and most long-lived sister city relationships,” said Nancy McJennett, network co-chair. “We hope that the kids who are visiting will make lifelong friends with the kids they stay with or with other kids they meet.”
Onakayama middle schoolers (from left) Nonoka Ikegami, Yuka Kishinami, Nonoha Yoshida, and Sara Tsuchida view their pictures on a message board.
A winsome welcome
Upon arriving at Thoreau on the morning of October 28, the visitors encountered six kindergartners gathered around a colorful poster reading “welcome” in Japanese.
The delegation then headed to the cafeteria to join fourth graders in making the onigiri. Each of the nine visiting students, ages 13 to 17, sat at a table with younger children, small bowls and plastic wrap laid out in front of them.
Parent volunteers helped ladle the rice into the children’s bowls during the exercise, which was inspired by Onigiri Action, a non-profit that raises funds to address food insecurity worldwide.
“We wanted to include them in something meaningful but not have them do it for us,” Burns said. “It’s a global change-making opportunity for kids to do together.”
The children followed Burns’ instructions, shaping the rice into triangles. One fourth grader said shaping the onigiri was her favorite part. Another student announced that he had eaten five.
Fourth grade teacher Amelia Burns shows students how to make onigiri (rice balls)
Nanae high schooler Kei Sakamoto, left, and Concord fourth grader Madlyn Conroy-Holdorf try their hands at constructing onigiri (rice balls).
The visitors also got a taste of local goodies — expressing a particular fondness for American chips. “They’re more crispier,” 13-year-old Nonoha Yoshida said as she and the other girls crunched away.
Nonoha brought Japanese snacks to share with her host family and got to try American favorites. McJennett said the Japanese students were especially interested in hamburgers, and Nonoha enjoyed the ones her host family grilled for her. She also planned to go trick-or-treating, dressed as a clown, with her hosts.
McJennett said the goal of the trip — and the network overall — is to give Nanae students a broad look at the American education system.
“We’re sharing our cultures, learning from one another, all in the name of a good cause,” Thoreau Principal Justin Sparks said. “It’s so important — especially for fourth and fifth graders — to understand that there’s a world outside of Concord and that we live in a global society.”
Onakayama middle schooler Sara Tsuchida has fun with the playground equipment — and a new friend.
During recess, the visitors ran and played with the Thoreau students, and they joined the fourth graders for library and music classes.
“My highlight was seeing my students play on the playground with the Thoreau students. They were laughing and running around together without any language barrier,” Aldous said.
Before departing, the Japanese students handed out origami figures they had made as a token of friendship. Nonoha described the atmosphere at Thoreau as “kind.”
Sara Tsuchida, 14, said she was fascinated by how enthusiastic American students were about asking questions.
“There’s not many shy people,” she said.