A Day At The General's

As scheduled, we visited General Emilio Aguinaldo's home where we declared our independence from Spain - check your P5.00 bill. We were joined by the Cariaso family of Paranaque - their daughter is Kara's batchmate.

Me starting off the tour:

Erin Cariaso and Kara by the "Dictator's" car (honestly, that's how he's mentioned in the Declaration of Independence):

Infront of the General - "Get of your high horse!"

Erin and Emilio:

This from the original Philippine Declaration of Independence text speaking about our Philippine flag: "The colors of Blue, Red, and White, commemorating the flag of the United States of North America, as a manifestation of our profound gratitude towards this Great Nation for its disinterested protection which it lent us and continues lending us." Kid you not. Love the "disinterested protection part." Guys, we've been had.

Anyways, thought it's a travesty that our flag is modeled after the "red, white and blue." Thought we should correct that. So, we came up with a "Design Your Own Flag" program:

Kara's Flag - Note the burger and the pants:

Nie Nie Buenaflor's (me Mom):

At Island Cove:

A Few Hours At The Rizal Shrine

Spent a few hours at the Shrine in Calamba. Have no idea yet why they're called "shrines" - meaning, "holy or sacred place, which is dedicated to a specific deity, ancestor, hero, martyr, saint, daemon or similar figure of awe and respect, at which they are venerated or worshipped."

I think we have serious "cult of personality" issues here in the Philippines.

Is an okay place, though, it really does not get into the mind and being of the hero: What he stood for, why he was persecuted, etc. It's quite a tame place for a person who really was a force for change.

Joselito and Marcus:

Infront of the green house. Why is it colored green? As explained by the person responsible for having it turned green, National Historical Institute head Ambeth Ocampo: "The word "Rizal" comes from the Spanish “ricial” which describes a green field ready for harvest. It was hoped that after asking, “Why is Rizal’s house green?” the visitor will get a relevant answer: the green hues are meant to honor the memory of the Rizal family and their way of life."

So, there.