Time for Butterflies to fly!

My Most recent photo with just a few of my 'kiddies' ^^

As you have come to know by reading and viewing my blog, I am a 20-something American man living and working in South Korea for the past two years of life. I have documented my cultural, social, dining, exploring, and traveling within Korea and have also given an insight to the many out of Korea trips I have taken to nearby Asian countries. However, I don’t really inform you very often about what I actually do 80% of my time- teaching English in a private ESL Kindergarten.

My school (more like home!), Baum Kids Schule

Two years ago I landed in Korea with the opportunity to teach English as a Second language in a small private kindergarten. I began as a ‘floating’ foreign teacher, but by my second month I was serving as head home room teacher to Tiger class. Tiger class consisted of six 7 year old students who were within only the beginning phases of learning the English alphabet and phonetic sounds. Our daily lessons consisted of phonics, science, art, math, and story-telling all within English; it is a complete submersion approach to teaching a foreign language. I grew close to my students, as well as their parents and before I knew it I felt like I had found my calling and place in life (for the time being)



Within a blink of an eye, the year had finished. My Tigers were now expressing their feelings, writing short sentences, reading stories, and comprehending basic conversation. They would be moving up to Butterfly class and I, feeling very comfortable in my life in Korea and place as a teacher in my school, renewed my contract for a second year. Not only were my Tigers moving up to Butterfly class, but I was going with them; serving as their teacher for a second year.



Again I have blinked, and already another year has passed. The children who I first met at the age of 6 are now 8 I am truly amazed at the amount of growth my students have made. Within this second year, my now Butterflies, are now writing lengthy paragraphs, telling their own stories, reading and understanding instructions on their own, and have also grown in the mathematical and science realms. My students now keep a weekend diary where they write down entries for how they spent their days (in English)! And one of my brightest girls even has a pen-pal in America- and what makes that so great is that is with my own 8 year old Nephew! Needless to say I am very proud of my ‘kids’ growth and accomplishments in the past two years.



The students that I have grown closest to, and their Mothers. On picture day, these three moms requested that I be part of their children's yearbook photo. Touching, really...

As they are now turning 8 years old, my Butterflies will be graduating from Kindergarten and entering elementary school in just 1 week. For them, and for me, these past 2 years have been a whirlwind of experiences, knowledge gained, and great bonds made between us all. I feel very close to many of my students (and their parents) after spending 5 days a week with them for the past 2 years (in a year round academic school year). I have prepared them to face their future the best I could, however, the one thing I didn’t prepare for was the amount of love and care that has grown within me.



During last week’s graduation ceremony, I delivered one of my final lessons, not only to my butterflies but to all the other students, teachers, and parents attending. That lesson being: ‘Even Patrick Teach Cries Sometimes When Saying Goodbye’ 


Now go, Butterflies, spread your wings and fly!

My students aren't the only one's moving on. It's my time to fly too....

Historical Macau- A One Day Trip!

   

      At the tail end of vacationing in Hong Kong and while en route back to my home in Seoul, I had the chance to spend one day in Macau, a small providence close to Hong Kong and China.  I traveled from Hong Kong to Macau via ferry (1 hour trip) and once docked I found some city maps and walking tour suggestions. So instead of paying for a tour group I just took off on foot and created my own walking tour of Macau’s historic landmarks.
      Macau was Europe’s very first settlement in Asia It was founded by the Portuguese and it’s architecture, foods, and culture are still highly Portuguese-ish. It’s an absolutely beautiful city and is referred to as a “a little Europe in Asia”. The main historical attractions are churches, libraries, old congress buildings, and the town center, Senado Square. 



      I started my “heritage walk” heading towards Senado Square, the town center.  While on my way to the square, I made small detours to see other attractions along the way.


 Mainly churches and old governmental buildings.

     Once at Senado Square, I was as amazed more than the pictures had! Just the same as the other churches and Portuguese buildings scattered throughout Macau, Senado Square was beautiful. I have never been to Italy, Spain, or Europe...but I really felt as if these buildings scream European culture!!! The square has a small fountain at the middle of it, surrounded by the heritage buildings, such as Holy House of Mercy, the post office, and Leal Senado Building.

      My next stop was St. Dominic Church, very near Senado Square. It was built between 1590 - 1610, and is still used today.

       Despite all the historic site I had seen, there was still one left that I just HAD to see, the Ruins of St. Paul Church and Monte Forte. St. Paul Cathedral Church was originally one of the largest churches in Macau, however it was used during a military crisis as a storage center for war materials and there was an explosion causing the church to catch fire. The wooden church burnt, but the original stone front of St. Paul’s still stands. Walking up the stairs to the ruins....it just got more and more amazing as I approached. I understand why it is the ‘symbol’ of Macau.

    After viewing all the sites I wished to see, I spent the rest of my afternoon wandering down small tiny side streets admiring the beauty and peace Macau has to offer. I also sampled some of the famous Macanese/Portuguese food such as almond cookies and egg tarts. Both- Patrick Approved!!!

     A one day trip WASN’T enough to understand the culture in Macau, but the trip was really a wonderful experience. If I ever get a chance, I would love to visit this beautiful European city in the south of China again!

Hong Kong - Happy New Year!!!

For my 2013-2014 inter break (one bonus of being a teacher) a friend and I embarked on a trip to Hong Kong for 5 days. I had never been to Hong Kong and had assumed it was much like norther china that I have visited, but boy was I WRONG!!!
Sorry for not having a long in depth video as I tried but it was waaaayyyy to long. I could talk about all of my travels for days on end! So please enjoy the day-by-day overview I typed below!

Saturday, December 28 2012:
 Zachary and I caught a mid day out of Seoul bound for Macau. We had a short layover in China, which was actually a bit scary! We didn’t have Chinese entry visas, but our connecting flight required us to leave the airport area and actually enter Chinese territory. We were briefly stopped, questioned, and then handed over our passports which disappeared for quite some time- but we were granted entrance and made our connecting flight to Macau.
**Once in Macau we walked to the Ferry terminal nearby and caught a boat to Hong Kong, specifically Kowloon island as that is where our Hostel was. It tok about an hour to ride the ferry over and after getting lost at 9 pm at night in Hong Kong, finding the subway, getting lost again and asking many people for directions, we finally made it to our Hostel (which was originally only a block away from where we exited the subway!) After a long and confusing day, Zach and I checked in and then went and checked out the local night life of our neighborhood before having a very late dinner of Hong Kong style noodles. YUM!

Sunday, December 29 2012:
We awoke early with the plan to head to one of the popular islands within Hong Kong. Before going to the island though we explored what our area on Kowloon island was like during the day. We awed at all the local resuraunts, stores, and ridiculous amount of commercial shopping there was! We even stumbled upon a popular food market streets- Stanley Market.

**After snacking and walking in the morning we headed to Lantua Island. Lantua Island is home to the world’s biggest Buddha monument and boy was it worth the journey! We hiked up t her pedestal and was in awe of not only the beauty of the statue but also the beautiful scenery we were surrounded by. We then checked out a touristy shopping area near the monument and headed back into Hong Kong.

**That night we used the time to explore one of the popular Market Streets near our hostel, “Ladies Market” Despite the name, it is actually a haggling street filled with clothes, bags, games, decorations, food, and souvenirs of all kinds. We ended our day with the most delicious Scheczuan food I’ve ever eaten! I have extra spicy tofu and an ice cold beer.

Monday, December 30 2012:
With our neighborhood covered and having made the journey to Lantua the day before, we wanted to hold off on exploring Hong Kong island until the following day so we decided to venture to costal area of our island and see the coastal area of our island, Kowloon. We could have taken the subway but decided to walk and check out the real streets of Kowloon. What should have been an hours walk turned into a 2 hour journey getting turned around on unmarked roads and also stopping to explore Kowloon Central Park and taking photos.
**Once on the bay area, we immediately went to the Tsim Tsa Shui area. Tsim Tsa Shui coastal area is home to the Star Avenue- a long stretch of famous asian celebrities and some western performers’ handprints and signatures. It was pretty neat, but more neat was the view of the city skyline of Hong Kong Island just across the bay.
**Later in the night, we viewed the laser show that is held every night at 8 pm. Buildings on both sides of the river shoot lasers around in the sky and also have light decorations that illuminate to music. It was cool, but I actually just enjoyed seeing all the buildings lit up at night! We explored the bay area a bit and then went for a few beers and then eventually dinner in the evening at yet another different street market in between the coast and our neighborhood. I had a Chinese Shrimp Omelet, it was sub par at best.

Tuesday, December 31 2012 “New Years Eve”!:
After 3 days in Hong Kong, Zach and I headed across the bay to Hong Kong Island to check out the worlds LONGEST escalator and hike Victoria Peak- one of the highest points in all of southern China. Once on Hong Kong Island, we quickly found the escalator. The escalator covers over 800 meters (2,600 ft) and meanders throughout all the busy side streets and avenues of the urbanized mountainside of Hong Kong Island. Running through the popular districts of SOHO and Lan Kwai Fong, I read somewhere that it is estimated that 55,000 go up it everyday! However, the escalator ends about halfway up the mountainside. From here, we hike!

**The hike was steeper and tougher than anticipated...but the view from the top was AWESOME!!! The air was so fresh, bright, and much more beautiful than my pictures describe.
**After hiking back down the mountainside, Zach and I chilled in the popular district of Lan Kwai Fong for a while and then headed back to Kowloon coastal area on our island to view the fireworks and grab dinner. The crowd for the fireworks was insanely crowded, but we sat with some really awesome Japanese people and made some new connections in a new place, which was nice. The world famous fireworks did not disappoint! It was honestly the best fireworks display I have ever seen.  For real.

Wednesday, January 1 2013 - Last Day:
Zach and I decided to do our own thing on this last day, which I actually really enjoyed. I awoke very early and set out to check out some popular attractions that I had heard of.
** First on the list was the Bird Park. This a park area where many people gather to not only watch birds, buy birds, sells birds but also many bird owners bring their own pet birds out for some fresh air. It was cute and sweet.
** Next I kept with the aviary theme and went to the Hong Kong Atrium. Much smaller than I thought, but still was able to view lots of birds like Macaws, Parrots, Love Birds, and even one called a Big Black Butthead (no joke)!!!
**Next I headed to a northern area of Kowloon Island to the Chin Lin Nunnery. Once there, I was immediately at peace. This garden and shrine tucked away in a heavily wooded area within Hong Kong was truly beautiful. So peaceful, still, tranquil, and surreal at what peace and beauty I found there. Although it is mainly a buddhist gathering point, while speaking to buddhists and christians alike I learned that the garden is so sacred for all who come to give thanks and worship.
** After the garden and having a late lunch of tofu and fried bean curd, I got lost (again) while trying to find the northern “beach sounding place”- Kowloon Bay. Ummmmm wrong!!! not a beach at all but just a place for boats to come in and out. BUT i actually really enjoyed getting lost on my own- it is a way to see and experience new things you wouldn’t otherwise.
** After a long day of “me” time, I headed to grab my last dinner in Hong Kong at a vegetarian restaurant that caught my eye while exploring the first day. I sat down with a middle aged man who recommended the Fried Tofu with bokchoy and sweet beans. It was really tasty, but even better was talking to him about his life in Hong Kong and just listening to his stories and philosophies on life. A truly great way to end my time in Hong Kong.

Thursday, January 2 2014: Off I go!
**Hong Kong was great- better than I expected. It was such a rich mixture of city, nature, peace, and beauty. A true gem in the south of China. **

Grabbed a famous Egg Tart and a Milk Tea from a small bakery on my way to catch early ferry back to Macau where I will spend my whole day exploring that area before I fly out to Seoul. Check out my next blog (soon) on my day in Macau! 

Peace and Love, Always!
-Patrick

Link to my FB photo album:
https://www.facebook.com/patrick.conn.9/media_set?set=a.10202604213563572.1073741846.1144020019&type=3