Seiritsu International Education

Hello everyone! JET teacher Laurence here.


Last year, I didn’t go back home for the holidays. I decided to stay in Japan and then go on a short trip in Indonesia. While it wasn’t a bad vacation, I did miss spending that time with my family a lot. In Canada, Christmas is a time people usually spend with their families, unlike Japan [PW- in Japan, the big family event is New Year's Day and has a similar feeling to Christmas elsewhere]. So even though I had fun, I definitely felt something was missing. All of this to say that this year, I will be going back to Canada for the Holidays! I am really looking forward to it! I don’t have a lot of space in my luggage for presents, so I decided to write everyone a card and give them an omamori I will buy at Sensouji temple soon![PW- an omamori is a small protective charm which looks like a very small cloth bag. You can have an omamori for many different things: Marriage, road safety, success in exams, health, wealth, and many more. You can buy them in most temples.]


Christmas cards are surprisingly hard to find and expensive in Japan! I guess it’s what you could call a “foreigner problem”, isn’t it? That being said, their designs tend to be very beautiful and detailed, so I don’t mind paying for them.
Wish me luck with my shopping!!


Laurence