Today was finally the day that we got to drive to Fausaga so I could see where my Dad was born and raised. I was really excited and very nervous for some reason. I was most excited to see where my Grandfather was buried. A lot of my cousins are older than my brothers and I and they remember being in Samoa or visiting there and they all knew Grandpa. Because my Dad is one of the youngest and he got married after coming to the US none of us had the chance to meet him. I don't know if I have even seen a picture of him. So today was very exciting.
When we pulled into the village we had moved to the side of the road so that we could take a picture with the village sign. I guess it was taking us a while to get out of the car and I thought that Kasala was being impatient with us because he was telling us to hurry and get take the picture and then get back in the car. Come to find out that there were people yelling at him to not take pictures and there were these little kids kind of walking towards us too. Apparently with rocks in their hands.
We weren't too sure where we needed to go but there was this older lady walking down the street and Kasala asked her for directions. She was very polite but she didn't recognize my Grandfathers name. She did however know who my Grandma was. That just amazed me. My Grandma hasn't been to Samoa in years but people still know and remember her! She must have been super popular in the village :) The lady gave us directions and every showed us to the correct road to turn down. It was a paved road and the houses were right off of the street. Many of the houses we passed on the main street were all open houses but as we turned down the street to the families property there were a few more of the western style homes. The house want too far down the street. It had a large front yard and of course it had a volleyball net set up. The yard looked like it was taken care of. There were also 4 graves right at the front of the property and I knew that one of them had to belong to my Grandfather.
Kasala, the girls and I were the only ones who got out of the car. We went and met Grandma Fale's brother Hakai. He lived at the house that Grandma and Grandpa actually built. Kasala was very polite and introduced me to him. We sat down for a while in the fale and talked. Well.. I listened. He asked about Grandma's health and how everyone was doing. He asked what I was doing there and when we were leaving. I think his daughter was also there. She said that she had pictures of Mike, Jeff and I when we were little.
After we visited with Hakai for a while we went to look at the rest of the property. There were a total of 3 larger houses on the property and a bunch of smaller ones that people were actually living in. There were a lot of my Dad's cousins that were there and of course I don't remember any ones name. We met Grandma's other brother Mika who lived in the house next to Hakai. He looked just like Grandma. I can see where we get our nose from.
After taking a few pictures we walked up to the graves that were at the front of the property. There was a total of 4 out there. The largest one was the chief whom my grandparents use to take care of along with their parents. The second tallest one was my grandfather. I couldn't help but begin to cry as I sat there on his grave. It was a very special day for me. This was all I had of my Grandfather... this grave. I have never seen a picture and I haven't heard very many stories of him either. When we approached the grave my heart sank. There was a huge hole on the top of the grave. I wish I had a bag of cement with me so I could fix it! Or at least a few more days so I could go back and fix it. We sat there for a few minutes and I just cried. This was the closest I was going to get to my Grandfather until I die. I really was hoping that he was looking down on my girls and I and I hope he was happy that we were there. I can't wait to go back every time we visit Samoa. I'm going to make sure that the area where the graves are is always clean and taken care of....even if we do just go back once a year. That's my Grandfather. He deserves the best.
The rest of today was spent packing, organizing and cleaning. I can't believe that it's time to go home. We have some last minute shopping to do tomorrow but other than that..... we just need to pack. I'm sad to leave but I'm also ready to get back into my own bed.
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