1/12/2009 - Former exchange student enjoys return visit 'home'

MOLLY NICHOLAS, Staff Writer

Nearly 30 years after graduating from Shenandoah High School, former AFS exchange student Masaru Nagayasu still keeps in touch with his host family and friends from the Garden City.

Nagayasu was back in town this week to visit with C.E. Hornbuckle and his wife, Carol, who were his host parents in 1979 and 1980.

“The last time I came here was over 10 years ago,” said Nagayasu. “We had a wedding for Amanda – the (Hornbuckle’s) younger kid.”

Originally, Nagayasu said he didn’t have very many reasons for wanting to leave his hometown of Kyota, Japan to become an AFS student.

“My friend wanted to come over and I went with him to take the test and I passed and he didn’t,” he said with a laugh. “I didn’t have much interest at that time but I’m glad I did that though.”

From his high school days in Shenandoah, Nagayasu remembers playing the flute in band, singing during choir, swinging a racket in tennis and cruising downtown with friends.

He remembered one friend in particular, Mike Norris, “(He) always gave me a ride to school.”

While Norris made an impression on Nagayasu, the Hornbuckle’s son, Brian, looked up to his “big brother,” Nagayasu.

Brian played the flute while in school and grew up to be an engineer just like Nagayasu.

Coincidentally both Brian and Nagayasu have daughters that play the flute as well.

After graduating from Shenandoah High School, Nagayasu returned to Japan to attend college at Tsukuba, which also happens to be where he met his wife, Junko.

Not long after graduating from college he was hired by Panasonic and sent to the United States for the second time.

“I got an assignment in Colorado. I was living there from ‘87 to ‘95, so I came down here (Shenandoah) once in awhile and our kids were born in Longmont, Colorado,” said Nagayasu.

Eventually, he and his family, which by then consisted of himself, his wife and their two daughters, Satoko and Yoko, moved to Osaka, Japan, where he still works for Panasonic.

While visiting Shenandoah over the holiday season, Nagayasu noticed several changes from his days as a Mustang.

“You have more bigger stores, more franchises, (but) there’s less stores on the main street, that’s kind of sad,” he said. “I’m glad to hear (though) that you are getting some businesses in like the new factory – keeps employment here.”

Nagayasu was the first of four AFS students that the Hornbuckles had in their home over the years.

Hornbuckle said they (his family) enjoyed Nagayasu so much that they wanted to do it again.

They have since shared their home with another student from Japan, one from Belgium and one from France.

This article was originally published here.