Monday - LMS Girls School and BBQ

To assist in my new Kiwi friend's plans to recreate one of the original European structures on Tutuila, a group of us headed out to the old London Missionary Society's girls school that was built here in the late 19th century. It's an old, abandoned structure that served as a school for over half a century on the western edge of the island. Just west of the village of Leone (one of the larger towns on Tutuila, that had received extensive damage during the 2009 tsunami).

The building was condemned in the 1990s (after having been converted into apartments), as the he structure was not well maintained and started to fail. As of now the building is well past saving. The floor in the 2nd story had collapsed in several rooms and the surrounding jungle had moved into the structure. A bamboo forest and overtaken the courtyard and several plants had taken root in the wooden floors that remained on the top floor. My Kiwi friend had been here previously 4 years ago, at that point the top floor had still been intact through the whole structure and he had been able to take detailed measurements of the building. This trip was meant to pick up some of the measurements and details he had neglected to take previously.

The building is noted as being a good example of Victorian Colonial architecture. Growing up with a contractor/architect father and spending several summers working construction has left me with a deep appreciation of architecture and built structures. I couldn't refuse an opportunity to see what the historical architecture that graces our small island.

I was also able to climb up into the second story masonry portions of the building. The wooden portions showed extensive termite damage and many had collapsed. The original ceilings were 14 feet on the first floor and almost as high on the second. All the rooms had large vents to allow the air to flow through the building and keep it cool. Even with all that building volume and ventilation, you could feel the heat of the Equatorial sun beating through the tin roof.

I'm glad I made the trip, based on the rate the vegetation is taking over, there won't be much left of the structure in another decade or two. I'm glad I could see a little of the history before it's reclaimed by the rain forest.

This is the Kiwi, draftsman taking field measurements on the column details and the foundation. It was also fun to assist him and use a few of the skills I learned helping my father over the years. It's not often that knowing how to sketch and draft a building in the field comes in handy. Hopefully our measurements will get turned into a reproduction of the building down the road.

The markings of the London Missionary Society, who built this school, are still visible on the exposed wood. Some of the legacy of the strong influence that missionaries exerted over the Samoas at the turn of the 20th Century.

We also met a mother from the local village and her two sons at the site. They came to investigate who was poking around the ruins. We introduced ourselves and she proceeded to start telling us the local legends of the structure. Apparently the old girls school has taken on quite the reputation as a cursed/haunted place among the local residents. The local mother, was actually very afraid of the place and she came to warn us of the demons and curses we would incur by being there. She actually screamed at her two boys on a few occasions when they were making enough noise to catch the attention of the spirits that haunted the place.

She also mistook us for the Ghost Hunters TV show production crew, apparently they are on island right now and were potentially going to shoot an episode at the abandoned girls school. The highlights of the curses the woman warned us of were that women who wear red hibiscus flowers in their hair, near the site, are cursed by the former headmaster of the school and if you eat from the mango tree located near the graveyard, you will get possessed. Needless to say we immediately went to find the graveyard and old headmaster's residence located further up the jungle hillside. We however didn't find any ghosts or edible mangoes. Though the Kiwi did his best to screech like a ghost the whole hike up and back through the swampy forest.

After returning from our trip to the girls school, three of us did a jog/walk out along the coastal cliffs west from the Freddy's beach housing complex. Along the shore there were some spectacular lava cliffs. Along the route I was happy to be shown some of the local features live an explosive blow hole driven by waves, a cliff jumping spot, a flat picnic rock and a few mean spirited dog packs. I also discovered my fitness was not what it used to be, a four mile run/walk should not give me such fits. Especially the last quarter mile sprint after some rest. Time to commit myself to regular exercise, otherwise I may end up with the physique of the native Samoans.

The second part of my day was spent getting to see a part of the local Samoan culture up close. On Sunday, on a walk along the beach/cliffs near where I live I met a few cousins having beers under some of the trees. After joining them for several beers, a rainstorm, and a little bit of conversation on the local history I ended up hitting it off with my new Samoan friends. We ended up hanging out for several hours and I got to know Lawrence and his cousin Abraham well. Before we parted ways that evening, they invited me to a barbecue on Monday. Wanting to branch out and meet some people outside of the contract worker community I readily accepted.

The barbecue was in a fale located in the front yard of Lawrence's family's home. One feature of the barbecue I had not anticipated was sharing it with the family's father, mother and grandmother, who are all deceased and entombed in aboveground graves inside the fale. Memorial Day takes on a new meaning when you spend it with the dead. Especially when the father's tomb had a glass window in it, so you could look in on the coffin.

The food was abundant and the company was great. Lawrence's whole family welcomed me in and never stopped pushing food on me. It was like having every member of the family acting like an Italian mother, making it difficult to refuse plate after plate of food offered. They have a large house where several of the siblings all live together. The only ones who don't live at home are either living off island or with spouses. Several aunts, cousins, nieces and nephews were there. It was an all afternoon family event. We talked the afternoon into evening, had a few Vailimas and I was sent packing with a huge plate of food. It was one of the most generous gatherings I ever had the pleasure to experience and they are ready to welcome us back when Sara arrives. This is the Samoa I am ready to spend the next two years experiencing.