Author: Phillip N. Patrick
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Travel Photo Journal
Traveling through Europe has been amazing. I don’t really have much to say, but sometimes pictures are worth a thousand words. I’ve decided to include a Travel Photo Journal on the site, beginning with my travels since September 2026. The photos are organized by country and city. Start with the Europe map, choose Switzerland or…
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Three Suitcases, Several Countries, No Clear Address
Three suitcases, four countries, and a few lessons I couldn’t have learned from a map. I’m still waiting for my luggage in Albania, but I know where I want to go next: back to Switzerland.
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Goodbye, Phillip Teacher
Leaving Korea meant leaving behind a toxic workplace, and children I had come to love.
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The Week of Lasts
This is the week I have anticipated for months. My last Monday at Maple Bear. My last Tuesday. My last Wednesday. My last Thursday. And, finally, my last Friday. I imagined this week mostly as a countdown to freedom—each “last” another door unlocking, another day survived, another step away from a place that has consumed…
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Running Toward the Blank Canvas
September 4 will be my final teaching day in Korea. After six months here, I will leave the country and travel to Switzerland. The Swiss Alps have called to me for as long as I can remember. As a teenager during the Gulf War, I learned that Switzerland had remained neutral during World War II.…
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Piece by Piece
What looks like reinvention from the outside feels, from within my life, like one long act of becoming.
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The Waterfall That Wasn’t
Yesterday, I got out of the city for a hike in the woods. Daejeon is surrounded by mountains, and I found a hike in Gyeryongsan National Park that is easily accessible by public transportation. The research I did beforehand was minimal, but when I saw there was a waterfall, I was already in. The weather…
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People Don’t Know What They Want Until You Give Them What They Don’t Want
At many stages in my life, I have come to the same realization: people don’t know what they want until you give them what they don’t want. Since I started teaching in Korea, I have learned that the Korean administrator and headteacher seem to assume that, despite the lack of clearly defined roles and undocumented…
