Meeting Gorm
From a Chance Encounter to a Lifelong Connection
In July 1996, my travel partner Allyson and I met Gorm on a scorching afternoon in Saint Louis, Senegal. He was sitting with his colleague Mauve at one of the tables on the veranda overlooking Point Faidherbe Bridge at Hotel de la Poste. We were wandering aimlessly and happened to walk inside the hotel, probably looking lost and confused. He invited us over for a beer. He just finished working with a local organization as part of his master’s degree program in health services. We told him we were students photographing in the area for a school documentary project. During our conversation, we asked if he could share a few tips since we were staying for a month and a half in the city.
"You know, there is this American lady who comes by every day around 6:00 pm and uses the phone in the lobby,” He began.
He paused to take a sip of his beer.
“I don't know her at all but you might want to come by tomorrow and see if she'll be there. She might be open to showing you around," he replied.
Gorm left for the States the following day. We took his advice and returned to the hotel. True enough, Lisa F, a peace corps volunteer stationed in Saint Louis for two years, walked in as scheduled. We waited until she finished her phone call before we introduced ourselves. We hit it off right away. She spoke the local language and was able to help us with translations. She gave us tips on how to navigate around the city and dished out common sense advice.
“When there’s no napkin in the restaurant, just slowly wipe your mouth with French bread,” she told us.
It still cracks me up to this day whenever I see Lisa’s posts. We recently connected on Facebook during the lockdowns in 2020.
Upon my return to Santa Barbara, I sent Gorm a thank you note and included two matted Polaroid transfer prints that I took in Saint Louis. He was thrilled to receive the photographs. I thought that was the last time I would hear from him but he sent an email four years later in 2000. By then, I had moved to the Bay Area while he had relocated to Sydney with his partner. He told me he was in town visiting his parents. He brought along his mom and briefly stopped by the office photo studio I rented in SOMA.
Fast forward to June 2011. I received another email from him via my website. He was due for a visit to the US and asked if he could commission me to take portraits of his family. I immediately said yes! And, what are the odds that his hometown is only 7 miles away from where I live?
As I drove to his parent's home on the day of the photo shoot, I thought how amazing it was that we met in such a remote part of the world and he continued to stay in touch all these years.
We had the portrait session in the backyard, where I met Gorm's family - his parents, brother, sister-in-law, and two nephews. Unfortunately, the youngest nephew refused to participate and would pout and stomp off whenever I tried to take his photo. Despite this, the rest of the family was able to go with the flow and make the most of the situation.
I sat in bed that evening, amazed at the power of chance encounters. Our paths crossed from a hotel in Senegal to me photographing his family over a decade later. It seemed almost too improbable to be true, yet we were proof that unexpected moments can lead to lasting connections.
Over the weekend, I was busy organizing a reunion for the 17 of us who journeyed to West Africa 27 years ago. While doing so, Gorm crossed my mind. It's hard to believe that I haven't seen him since 2011. Time really does fly by!
“You must come and visit me in Australia,” he said before we parted ways.
He lives a few hours away from Sydney. Unfortunately, I only had a few days in the city and could not visit him back in 2017.
This serves as a reminder for me to reach out once I finish writing this post!
Your turn, dear readers. Have you had a chance encounter during your travels that turned into a lasting connection?
As always, feel free to leave me a comment below. I’d love to hear your thoughts.
See you all next Sunday!
What a lovely story! It’s amazing how chance encounters can spawn world-spanning friendships!
Another wonderful post - thanks, Stella!
Loved this: "“When there’s no napkin in the restaurant, just slowly wipe your mouth with French bread." BRILLIANT! I can't be without a napkin - I travel with a stash of cotton ones. I remember as an au pair decades ago being absolutely horrified when the grandmother of the family used a corner of the TABLECLOTH as such.....!
A great read. 😊