Homecoming

A Homecoming Like No Other
My Samoan father was gone for about two months in American Samoa for Flag Day (He did the choreographing for the celebration) and when he returned it was unbelievable.
In Samoa people are thanked for their good work for with presents. But I didn’t expect what was about to happen for his homecoming.
The night before he was to come home my brother went to Apia with the pickup truck to get him. (They were trying to get something bigger, although I did not know why.)
The Friday he was to come home, my family participated in a massive cleaning. Everything was cleaned. When the sun was beginning to set a van showed up. Tupai was in it. I became real confused about the whereabouts of the family truck. My questions were soon answered about five minutes later.
Thevehiles showed up at our house and were quite the spectacle. They were overfilled with boxes, while me and my brothers and my sister helped bring in….for maybe an hour.
There was two lawn mowers, about 20cases of siamini, many many many many cases of Ramen, hundreds of pounds of flour, sugar and rice, bins full of clothes, chocolates, and cloths, and a few electronics. It was quite the spectacle. Our house was full of these gifts.
The next week was spent with my family giving away the presents received. The constantly visiting family members elsewhere full of boxes of food.
It was amazing to see how giving they were.