From Santo Domingo to Seoul – friendship beyond borders
I first met Soo when I volunteered in the Dominican Republic in the summer of 2013. The young Korean volunteer who at the time was doing a 1 year placement with charity organisation Good Neighbors DR, was my flatmate during my one month stay with the organisation. We got along instantly, going as far as cooking dinner every evening together and sharing our cultures: Ghanaian and Korean!
Check out Hang out with Soo and Kai… GN Dom volunteers! One of the first videos I made about my travel experiences using just an iPad/iPhone (I’ve come a long way since then!)
So when I was in Seoul earlier this year, I reached out to Soo and we met up sharing an afternoon together and rekindling our friendship!
We started our reunion in Samseong where the Park Hyatt on the 24th floor which offered panoramic views of the Gangnam financial district edged with a natural landscape. There we indulged in a sweet treat from the menu, speaking for hours catching up on the year and a half we haven’t seen each other.
After that we took a short stroll to the COEX mall – Asia’s largest underground shopping area, where we headed to a photo-booth parlor to capture our reunion in a memorable way – Japanese pop culture style which has found its way to Korea (the machines only accept Yen!)
We then stumbled across the Kakao store (think Whatapp meets M&M’s store) which houses all the characters from the Korean mobile messaging app. Cute… But then, that’s South Korea for you!
A testimony to how “giving back” as volunteers 2 years ago has rewarded us with a life-long friendship! Share thoughts in the comment box below!
Travelmaker Kai 