When you’re out on the road, sometimes an act of kindness from a stranger can make all the difference. We’ve all heard the stories of good Samaritans who have gone out of their way to help travelers in need. Last week, a South Korean tour group found out just how true these stories can be when their van got stuck in the snow in Williamsville, New York, and a good Samaritan stepped in to shelter them through the blizzard.
The group of 10 travelers, which included nine tourists from South Korea, were making their way to Niagara Falls from Washington, DC when they found themselves in the middle of a blizzard. Two of the men decided to knock on a door asking for shovels to try and get their van out of a ditch. Little did they know, they would be welcomed inside the home of Alex Campagna, a dentist, and his wife.
Campagna and his wife put the 10 people up on couches, in sleeping bags, an air mattress, and in a spare bedroom. Campagna didn’t want to send the group back out on the roads, knowing that the storm was “the Darth Vader of storms.” Choi Yoseob, a member of the tour group, said it was “kind of like fate” that they had ended up with a family with a full pantry and a hospitable attitude.
The group spent the next two days swapping stories, cooking, and watching an NFL game on Christmas Eve. They made several Korean meals, including jeyuk bokkeum, stir-fried pork, and dakdori tang, a spicy chicken stew. If they had stayed for Christmas dinner, they likely would have made bulgogi.
On Sunday, when the roads were cleared, drivers picked up the tourists and brought them back to New York City. Choi and his wife planned to stay for New Year’s Eve, while the others were scheduled to fly back to South Korea this week.
