My Stay in Manila!

     Alright. I never usually do blogs about myself. It's usually just news or history. But today, it's different. You see, I stayed in Manila from May 15 to May 17. And it was great. I visited many places, including the Manila Cathedral and Fort Santiago. In addition, we get a small dose of sports here. Okay, let's go!

Basketball - May 15


    We started by watching the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA). We watched two games - San Miguel Beermen vs Terrafirma Dyip and TNT Tropang Giga vs Rain or Shine Elasto Painters. San Miguel and Rain or Shine won the games. However, please note that we did not watch both games in its entirety. We watched the last two quarters of the first game and the first quarter of the second game.

Intramuros Tour - May 16
    There were two events on May 16. This first one was the Intramuros tour. (Intramuros is a small area in Manila, though it used to be all of Manila. Intramuros literally means "inside the walls.") 

    Before entering the Manila Cathedral, we looked at a statue for Charles IV of Spain. (I don't have the photo, sadly.) I then took a photo in front of the Governor's Palace:


    We then entered the Manila Cathedral. (I usually go to church at new churches, so this was exciting.) Very quickly, I noticed the elegance of the building. It had an organ and this platform where priests used to preach the Homily. (Nowadays, the priest preaches the Homily at the altar.) I saw this small room, where we saw the history of the cathedral. It was actually destroyed and rebuilt several times! Finally, we bought a small fridge magnet and left the cathedral.

Me in front of the Cathedral. (Remember that clock on top, we'll see it later!)

    Our next stop was the San Agustin Church. But on the way there, I saw a small memorial for Filipinos killed during World War II by the Japanese Imperial Army. Many died in major areas of Manila, including the area where our hotel was.

    After that, we arrived at the San Agustin Church. My mom thought everything was just wallpaper, but it turns out it was actually carved. I wanted to spend a lot of time there. But unfortunately, there wasn't a lot to do. The front of the church was off limits, and there wasn't any souvenir shop or room featuring the history of the church. We ended up leaving early and going to our next destination, Fort Santiago.

Me in front of the San Agustin Church. 

Me inside the church with my mom. 

    At first, we wanted to use a horse. From what I remember, I never used a horse for transportation before, and I wanted to do it. But it cost PHP 1,000! For just going from San Agustin to Fort Santiago, this was definitely not worth it. We decided to just get a trike.

    Although this wasn't for school, I do have a Student ID, so I was able to get a PHP 25.00 discount. There were also guided tours, but I decided to take a freestyle tour. I started by looking at the main area, where there were a lot of cannons and stuff. We didn't do a lot there, but we did see a moat. 


    However, upon crossing the moat, I realized that we had not been inside the fort the whole time. The entrance to the fort was across the moat. I actually saw the area where Jose Rizal, the national hero of the Philippines, was imprisoned. (He was arrested by Spanish colonial leaders for demanding reforms.)

    Later on, I saw a small shrine for Rizal. It was nice. They had many statues to depict scenes, as well as videos. One statue showed Rizal writing with a quill. (At first glance, I thought a real person was inside.) Another statue scene was nice. It was Rizal standing at the court, being declared guilty by the judge. To add the the realism, the coat of arms of Spain was featured there. 

Me in the "court" where Rizal's trial was depicted.

    We went upstairs to see a souvenir shop, but I wasn't too interested. On the way out, I bought an old-looking hat, and fired some cannons. 

Me in the hotel room after the day, with my hat.

Firing a pretend cannon. 

    So, we left. We jumped into our cab and returned to our hotel room. 

Football Match - May 16
    We ended the day with a football match. You might have heard of the UAAP from my previous blogs. This was one of their games. It was the final match between the University of the Philippines (UP) and the Far Eastern University (FEU). 

    I don't do sports analysis, but I'll do my best to give you a good overview of the game. In the first half, both teams had opportunities to score goals. But neither succeeded, and the first half ended 0-0. 

    But in the second half, something big happened. An FEU player committed a foul, allowing UP to make a penalty kick. It succeeded, and UP went up 1-0. The rest of the game had some close calls, but UP ended up winning. 

The UP team after winning the game.

Leaving - May 17
    This ends our trip to Manila. It was a fun ride, but we had to leave. There were still tasks to do at home. But who knows? Maybe, in the future, I'll get the opportunity to return to Intramuros. But, for now, it was good while it lasted.

    So, I'll see you when something big happens. Bye!

The Library of Enotita

Historical Facts: The 1867 Compromise and the Austro-Hungarian Empire

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     Okay. I think I gave you the end before the beginning, because this is about the rise of Austria-Hungary. If you didn't read the last article , that's on the fall of Austria-Hungary. But, I didn't know I would post on this. So, let's go!     Let's look at Austria in 1867. The previous year, they lost a war to Prussia and Italy. After Prussia defeated Austria, the other German states dependent on Austria had an uncertain future. (This would be resolved after the Franco-Prussian War.) But Austria also had an uncertain future. After losing wars, you would generally have a bad economy. Austria was no exception. And Austria already had many ethnicities in their empire. As I said in the last article, Austria had many minorities. In fact, I'll list just some of the most significant minorities in the Austrian Empire: Czechs Slovaks Poles Ukrainians Romanians Hungarians Serbs Croats Slovenes Italians     If this doesn't sound too complicated to you, think ...
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The Ager Centralis Enotitae and Pecunia - Enotitan Finance Guide

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The first ever bill issued by the Ager Centralis. This bill is for one Pecunia.      Almost every country has a currency. You have the dollar, peso, euro, pound, and much more. However, we did not have a currency. This is bad, because the economy is very vital to every country. That's why we established the Ager Centralis Enotitae (Latin for Enotitan Central Bank). From now on, Enotitans can use the Pecunia, our new currency.      To start, open an account at any branch of the Ager Centralis. (Currently, there are only branches in Olsen, the main state.) Present the teller any valid Enotitan government ID. Following that, give the teller any bill from any currency. After around 10 minutes, it will be converted and transformed into a Pecunia for the initial deposit.      You can use the card in Enotitan shops. You can buy souvenirs, food, or even use it to receive salary. (Enotitan companies besides government agencies do not exist at the mome...
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Historical Facts: American and Japanese Rule in the Philippines

     This was based on Reader's Digest: The Story of the Filipino People - Parts 6 and 7 ( Under the Stars and Stripes  and The Japanese Occupation ) by Milagros C. Guerrero and Ricardo T. Jose.      Now that I think about it, I would call the Spanish occupation "the first storm," the American occupation "the second storm," and the Japanese occupation "the third storm." The "between the storm" parts would be 1898 - 1901 and 1935 - 1941.  Part 1 - The Second Storm (1901 - 1935)     After the Philippine-American War, the United States turned the Philippines into a colony. They gained it in the Treaty of Paris along with Puerto Rico, Cuba, and some other islands. The Americans needed to keep it away from Spain, France, and Germany.      Under Spanish rule, the Filipinos were taught Catholicism. But the Americans were mainly Methodist (a sect of Protestantism). American missionaries were sent to the Philippines, although most ...
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