Category: family

Blog #16

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Traveling during layovers

July 26, 2025 by Ruth Misori

Earlier this month, I decided to go on a brief trip to Dallas to visit some relatives whom I knew that I wouldn’t be able to see for a while. Initially, I had previously booked another trip to San Francisco during that time since I loved it there so much the first time I’d visited. However, one of my relatives suggested that I come by briefly to visit her in case I don’t get another opportunity to do so in the future. I thought about her suggestion and decided to take it into consideration since I adore her dearly and wanted to spend as much time with her and my other relatives as possible. While I understood that I’d be missing out on a fantastic trip to San Francisco and Yosemite, it’s always something that I can always come back to at another time. However, the time that you spend with the people that you love is limited and short. I’d learned that lesson from my late uncle’s demise, so I wanted to take the opportunity to prioritize quality time with my relatives as much as possible.

Once I realized that going to Dallas to spend time with my relatives instead of going back to San Francisco on holiday was a no-brainer, I immediately cancelled my flight and hotel arrangements in San Francisco. Thankfully, once I cancelled my flights, I automatically received travel credits that goes towards any future trips that I book domestically. Luckily for me, it was enough for a roundtrip to Dallas and from my hometown. My roundtrip however had a 4-hour layover in DC on the way home. Despite weather delays and cancellations occurring across the nation, I was fortunate enough not to be directly impacted and was able to arrive in Dallas smoothly and quickly as intended on July 1st, and I would leave on the 4th of this month.

As you can imagine, those four days went by very quickly and I was set to return home on July the 4th. I had to get up early around 6, so I could leave for the airport and depart on time for my flight to DC. After a tearful goodbye with my favorite relative, I was off to the airport. My flight to DC landed around noon, and I had four hours to spare before my final flight to my hometown takes off. Initially, I was reluctant to leave the airport to briefly go sight-seeing because I didn’t want to risk missing out on any important announcements regarding my flight or even potentially missing it all together. However, I also wasn’t particularly keen on the idea of mindlessly scrolling on my phone while waiting for the time to pass by until my flight departs, either. So, as my plane was descending, I glanced through the window and thought to myself, ‘It’s a nice, sunny day. Just go now otherwise you’ll change your mind.’

Once the plane landed at DCA and passengers were able to exit, I went to the nearest metro and bought a day-pass card then immediately went to L’Enfant plaza, where the hop-on-hop-off bus tours starts. This was the first place I went to the last time that I was in DC to purchase and start the bus tour throughout the city. When I arrived, I noticed that there weren’t any tour busses and figured that maybe they were running late due to the holidays. I decided to wait 15 more minutes before going into the International spy museum to ask anyone for information regarding bus tours. Unfortunately, no one knew any information about it, so I went back outside and asked a security guard nearby. He suggested that I contact their website’s number for more info regarding their hours of operation, which I did, but it went to voicemail several times.

I decided to wait an additional 20 minutes before finally going back to the metro to go to the nearest stop at the White House. Once I arrived at the White House, I noticed that there were a lot of security guards and police cars everywhere, and barricade fences surrounding major tourist areas. I then quickly realized that there were no bus tours operating because of the barricade fences and police cars blocking major roads, so I walked to the Monument after I finished taking photos at the White House. I was annoyed because had I known that the bus tours weren’t going to operate on the 4th of July, I would’ve just stayed at the airport, since that was my sole reason for wanting to leave and go sight-seeing in the first place. After all, I had enjoyed the previous bus tour I’d took in DC back in 2023, so I was certain that I’d equally enjoy my time taking another bus tour on the 4th of July. Unfortunately, their website didn’t mention that they wouldn’t be operating for the holidays, nor did they leave a voicemail explaining any closures.

After I took pictures of the Monument and the National Museum of African American history, I decided that I was ready to go back to the airport to prepare for my flight home. By now I was hot, sweaty and exhausted from the excessive walking in the city and at the airport from my previous flight. While I had taken a cold water bottle with me, it was now too warm and gross to drink, and my body was no match for this goddamn heat. The closer I got to a metro, the more exhausted I became and felt beads of sweat run down my back and by this point, my shirt felt damp. I didn’t want to return to the airport drenched in sweat, so I went to the nearest souvenir shop outside and bought a new shirt. I then went to Starbucks to change into my new shirt and cool down for a few minutes before headed back to the airport.

As I was on my way to the airport, I glanced at my phone and noticed that I only had an hour before my flight departs. To my horror, I looked at Google maps to track how long before I arrive at the airport and it said 45 minutes. I looked at the time again, then the name of the airport (Dulles), and quickly realized that I was going to the wrong airport. Luckily, I received an email from American Airlines that my flight was being delayed by 30 minutes, which gave me more time to find the correct airport. I got off at the next stop and asked a couple nearby for directions to DCA. Their instructions were a bit confusing, but I tried my best to navigate them as I got on and off various stops on the metro lines. Time was passing by very quickly and unfortunately the metro lines confused me even further and realized that I was going around in circles, so I asked the security guards for help as a last resort. I grew frustrated by the minute and realized that if I continue to take the metro, then I’ll keep get lost over and over again. The bottom line was that if I don’t get off the metro now, then I’ll risk missing my flight. I quickly decided to leave the metro to take an uber instead by going to the nearest hotel to book a ride.

The first driver that was assigned to pick me up was 5 minutes away, so I sighed of relief. 5 minutes went by but there was no sign of my driver. I briefly panicked and texted my mother that I might end up missing my flight and that I’ll have to rebook another one home. After the text was sent, I immediately received a new notification that a new driver was assigned to me and was 2 minutes away. I furrowed by eyebrows in confusion and hoped that the new driver would arrive quickly so I can leave for the airport. Thankfully my new assigned driver arrived in 2 minutes as planned, and I gave him the address to my terminal at DCA. I continued to glance at my phone, hoping for another delay so I could make it to the airport in time and saw that I only had 6 minutes before boarding. My eyes widened as I realized that I likely wouldn’t even make it pass security in time before boarding at my gate. My driver started to slow down and told me that it might not be possible to get me to the airport because some of the roads were blocked. By now I was exasperated and snapped. “You need to find another way to get me to the airport! Please find another route,” I shouted. “Ok,” he responded.

The driver found another route to take, and I eventually arrived at the airport. By now, the notifications said that passengers were able to board. I dashed to the security which was luckily a short queue, and I was out within less than 2 minutes. I looked at my terminal and gate number, which was located all the way on the other side of the airport. I rolled my eyes as I dashed once again to get to my terminal and gate number. As I was running on and off (I was bloody exhausted), I kept thinking to myself that this was pointless because I was already late and there’s absolutely no way that I’ll make it in time for my flight, so I should just arrive at my gate to rebook the next available flight instead of wasting my time. Once I arrived at my terminal and gate number, I asked the desk attendant if my flight was still boarding. He got my information then informed me that I was at the wrong gate. I sighed out of exhaustion and glanced at my phone to check the gate, which thankfully happened to be right next to the one I was standing at.

I then quickly run to the correct gate and ask the desk attendant if my flight is still boarding. She chuckled at me and told me that no one has boarded yet. I then glimpse at the time displaying my flight’s departure and noticed that it was delayed again by 5 minutes. So that meant that I was actually on time, and I wouldn’t miss my flight back home. What a bloody relief! I quickly went to the nearest shop to buy some water and snacks since I was starving and hadn’t eaten anything since that morning of my flight. Eventually, the 5 minutes went by, and I was able to board, and my plane took off. I didn’t have any neighboring passengers on my row, so I had more space to myself, which was nice. However, there was a lot of turbulence and, I was very frightened. As my plane finally landed, I thought to myself that this something that I will never do again, and if I have 5 hours or less, then I’m staying at the airport. Lesson learned. If it wasn’t for those delays, I would’ve had the trip from hell trying to spend more money rebooking a flight back home or even a hotel stay if there weren’t any available ones that day. Even if I have a 6-hour layover, I try to find other ways to occupy my time at the airport by reading, browsing lounges, eating or even walking aimlessly within my terminal.

Even though 6 hours seems like a long time, it goes by very quickly, and it’s best to stay at the airport for any future announcements regarding delays, gate changes or cancellations. While I’m glad I got to visit the White House and Monument again and take pictures, it wasn’t worth the hassle trying to sprint back to the airport and getting lost in the process. I don’t have any regrets as I believe that if I didn’t take this chance to go sight-seeing, then I would’ve had what ifs, but this was definitely one hell of a day trying to rush to the airport so I don’t miss my flight. So, I guess experience is sometimes the best teacher, but I will never do this in such a short timeframe again. However, what I would do in the future regarding long layovers (at least 7+ hours), I would determine how long the routes to and from the airport are to see if it’s even worth leaving at all or staying grounded where I am. If I decide that it’s worth leaving, then I’ll make sure to take an uber or taxi back and forth to avoid confusion or delays, and I’d only visit one place then return to the airport with at least 3 hours left to spare.

So yeah, that was my experience of being in 3 different cities in one day on the 4th of July, and it was crazy. I’m glad I made it back home on the same day in one piece, but man, I was tired! Hopefully I’ll have more crazy adventures to tell you about, but until next time, peace out and safe travels.

Blog #15

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Dr. Samuel Fongang’s Tribute

February 21, by Ruth Misori

September 5, 1966 – December 6, 2024

It pains me so deeply to think of my favorite uncle in the past tense, but unfortunately, death is a status that no one can ever reverse. In fact, one of life’s most painful lessons for anyone is learning that death is ultimately a part of life, and that everyone unfortunately has a certain timeline. Another painful life lesson is also learning that despite death, life must go on amongst the living and that they must move forward, regardless of its many challenges. While grief is very difficult to handle, I was still taught this important lesson at a younger age. This topic of death was introduced to me through the loss of loved ones, relatives, and church members. While I naturally took the time to grieve the individuals I’d lost, it was admittedly brief (with the exception of a few church members), and I was quickly able to mentally move forward without much trouble. However, that brief grieving process inevitably changed when I received a dreadful phone call from my father that my favorite uncle in the entire world had tragically passed away in a car crash.

I was immediately distraught and tearful because my uncle, Dr. Samuel Fongang was one of the kindest, most generous, and friendliest man that I’ve ever known, and to learn that he suddenly died in a way that was the opposite of peaceful was very traumatic, and I questioned why such a terrible fate befell him. Well, I have a confession: Dr. Fongang wasn’t biologically my uncle, nor was he technically my father’s brother. However, He was good friends with my father for over ten years, which is how I met him and his family, and we instantly clicked. He was so funny, optimistic, compassionate, and jovial. He always referred to me as ‘daughter’ whenever he spoke to me, which is why I am so confident in referring to him as a relative of my family because of how eagerly he welcomed my family and me into his. He made sure that I knew that I was not a stranger and that I was always welcome to come and visit him whenever I’d like.

In fact, thirteen years ago, he and his family came over to my house in my hometown for a visit to let us know that he was moving to Dallas for work, so my family and I wanted to make them dinner to bid them a nice farewell. This moment was the most significant part that Uncle Fongang played in my life because before they left, he and I made a promise that I would someday visit him and his family in Dallas, and as of December 2023 on New Year’s Eve, I finally got to fulfill that promise and we had such a wonderful time. Funny enough, every time that I did visit Dallas in the past, I would always ask my dad if I could pay him a visit, but he was usually out of town (he was a travelling nurse practitioner), so I didn’t get the chance to see him then. However, I was so excited to learn that I would be able to see him during my visit to Dallas during Christmastime as this time he would be in town. He wanted to meet us at his church that Sunday on New Year’s Eve, where we had the best reunion.

About fifteen minutes after church service started, I turned around and saw that he and his family had arrived and were seated behind us (we couldn’t sit together because church was a bit crowded), and I immediately grinned from ear to ear as I silently greeted them by mouthing, ‘Hi,’ and shook their hands. After church ended, we went outside to reunite and greet one another with big smiles and hugs because it had been over a decade since we were all together. “It’s so good to see you!” I told Uncle Fongang as I went in for a hug. “I haven’t seen you in a long time, I think I should give you another hug.” He responded as he embraced me into another hug by lifting me from the ground. I immediately melted because one normal hug was not nearly enough to express how much we’d missed each other and that a bear hug was the best way to acknowledge his paternal affection for me. Shortly after our reunion, he decided to take my family and his out to eat at a Chinese buffet, and we had such a blast!

Spending time with Uncle Fongang and his family felt like old times back in my hometown as we were catching up and laughing and taking nice photos to commemorate this reunion that was very long overdue. I will remember and cherish these moments I shared with Uncle Fongang and his family forever. The night before he died, I was washing dishes when a random thought of him suddenly appeared, and I was wondering how he was doing and wanted to call him to wish him well and tell him that I had missed him. Unbeknownst to me, I didn’t receive any warning signs or sense that something bad was going to happen to him the following day, and unfortunately during that random thought, I felt self-conscious about looking weird for calling him randomly to tell him that I loved and missed him, which I deeply regret now because I’m fully aware that he would’ve reciprocated that same message and wished me blessings. Furthermore, he likely would’ve immediately called my dad afterwards to express his gratitude for my gesture. After all, he always called me, ‘daughter,’ so the fact that I even conceived this idea of calling him to tell him that I loved and missed him as weird makes me feel remorseful because it’s the very opposite. It’s beautiful and it’s an act of love. Love was an act that Uncle Fongang demonstrated by making it known to me from the very beginning that I’ve met him that I’m an additional member of his family.

The good news is that despite my last desired words being left unsaid, I know that during the time while he was still alive, he was already aware that I loved him and that he also loved me like one of his own children. In fact, I know he loved his wife and children (Mrs. Manyi (wife), Almira, Samuel Jr., and Ivana Faith (children) so much that his generous affection and care for them will be overpoured into the next Fongang generation who will one day know of him and understand why he was an important person. His kind and jolly spirit was contagious, and I’m incredibly grateful that I got the chance to fulfill our promise by visiting him in Dallas. Dallas will now forever be marked as a symbolic place of glee, remembrance, and great memories. Lastly, let me just say that it was such a massive and tremendous privilege getting to know and love Dr. Fongang as my uncle, and until he hears the loud sound of Jesus’ trumpet, may he rest in peace until we meet again.