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In the city of Busan, South Korea, my friends from Africa and I, attended a workshop in the second largest city in South Korea. I have heard of the city - Busan but have never visited. This is my second time to visit this beautiful country, the first visit was way back in 2016 and the second was two years later in 2018. The first visitation was short -only for a period of 28 days during the month of May, basically, to attend a KOICA funded workshop. The second visitation was a bit longer, 17 months, again the trip was funded by KOICA. This time around it’s not for workshop but study.

This is where I meet my friends from Africa (Ghana, Rwanda and Nigeria), they are so kind and friendly. Everywhere they go, I always follow them, to enjoy the great company they offer. It was really a great friends of people to be with. The good thing I like about them was, all of them are Christians, and this makes me blend in well with them.

Every Sunday morning, at 9:00 am, I always receive a knock on my door or sometimes, entries into my room to wake me up. That was the usual role of our leader, to makes sure, we prepare early for the Sunday services at Jongbu church. The church was great because it's only us with few Koreans who can speak English.   

Life was good. I have my friends who can make me smile and we laugh a lot. Several occasions, Korean students were disappointed for the noise was too loud. But one of my friends said, if he cannot talk for a day, he will die. He gets used to talking, laughing and giggling but the Koreans prefer silence. They like to be with their phones on their palms and smile. That’s all they do. It’s different. A new experience but we manage to sort things out and become friends.