August | 2012 | IT'S XIAOTIME!

August 17, 2012

SALAMAT AT PAALAM: Obitwaryo Para kay Cory Aquino, 1 Agosto 2009

SALAMAT AT PAALAM:

Corazon Sumulong Cojuangco Aquino

(1933-2009)

Michael Charleston “Xiao” B. Chua

Unang nailathala sa pahayagang Mabuhay: Lingguhang Pilipino Mula Pa Noong 1980, 31 Hulyo-6 Agosto 2009, 1, 9. Ang unang bersyon nito ay napabilang sa mga sanaysay na inilathala ni Margie Penson Juico sa Cory: An Intimate Portrait II, Selected Tributes and Eulogies (Pasig City: Anvil Publishing, Inc., 2010), 86-88:

“Nagpapasalamat ako sa inyong lahat, lalo na sa Panginoong Diyos, at ikinararangal ko na ginawa niya akong Pilipino na katulad niyo.”

-Cory Aquino

Nilisan na tayo ni Tita Cory!

Ito ang maling balita na natanggap ko mula sa isang estudyante ko habang ako ay naglelektura noong 24 Hulyo 2009. Sa araw na iyon, marami ang umiyak. Mali ang balita, pero may nasilip akong bagong pag-asa sa sama-samang pananalangin para sa kalusugan ng dating pangulo. Noong hapon na iyon, nakasakay ako ng taxi sa Vito Cruz nang makakita ako ng isang padyak na may malalaking dilaw na ribbon. Naiyak ako. Hindi pa pala nakakalimot ang mga tao.

Kanina, sa ganap na 5:48 ng umaga, ang aking kaibigang si Ayshia ay ginising ako sa telepono ng isang masamang balita—Nilisan na tayo ng tuluyan ni Tita Cory sa oras na 3:18 ng umaga. Nakapaligid ang kanyang pamilyang nagdarasal ng rosaryo, sa ikalimang misteryo ng Hapis.

Habang isinusulat ko ito mula dito sa Tarlac, at maging sa Maynila, makulimlim at panaka-naka ang ulan, maging ang langit ay nagluluksa sa kanyang pagkawala.

Bilang isang batang lumaki sa panahon ng Kapangyarihang Bayan (People Power), inspirasyon ko si Tita Cory. Sinisigaw ko ang kanyang pangalan sa tuwing may helikopter na dumadaan at dinadala ko ang kanyang larawan. Una ko siyang nakamayan sa pagpaparangal sa kanya ng Ramon Magsaysay Award noong 1998, muli sa Katedral ng Maynila sa misa para sa mga biktima ng 9/11 noong 2001, at sa marami pang ibang pagkakataon. Nakapanayam ko na rin siya noong 2003 at sa kabila ng pagiging pormal at makikitang pagpapahalaga sa distansya at pribasiya, naging mabuti ang kanyang pagtrato sa amin at pinadama niya na espesyal kami sa kanya. Kamakailan lang, nagpaunlak din siya sa aking kahilingan na pirmahan lahat ng aking mga libro at memorabilia ukol sa kanya. Simple lamang siya.

Ang nais kong maalala kay Gng. Aquino ay ang simpleng nilalang sa kanyang kaibuturan. Ang simpleng nilalang na sa iba’y maaaring tawaging ang bata na nasa loob natin, na sa kabila ng komplikasyon at mga kakulangan ay nagpapadayon pa rin, hindi natitinag.

Naaalala natin ang simpleng maybahay at ina na hindi naisip ang panganib ng diktadura, at naging tinig at tanglaw ng nakakulong na kabiyak, ang bayaning si Ninoy Aquino, at ng isang pamilyang nangungulila sa haligi ng tahanan.

Naaalala natin na matapos mapaslang ang asawa noong 21 Agosto 1983, sa kabila ng pagnanais na magkaroon ng mapayapang buhay, tinanggap niya ang hamon na maging lider nang kinailangan ng ipantatapat sa makapangyarihang diktador. Nanaig ang simpleng nilalang sa loob niya, na sa kabila ng kakulangan ng karanasan, sinunod niya ang kahilingan ng milyong tao na tumakbo bilang pangulo, at sa panahon ng Kapangyarihang Bayan noong Pebrero 1986, tinawagan siya ng mamamayan na itatag muli ang bandila ng demokrasya sa bansa.

Naaalala natin ang simpleng pangulong hindi naghangad na mapag-ibayo ang kanyang kayamanan, gamit ang kanyang kapangyarihan. Hindi nabahiran ng anumang alegasyon ng personal na korupsyon.

Naaalala natin na matapos niyang ilipat ang panguluhan ng mapayapa noong 30 Hunyo 1992 sa kanyang kahalili, sa unang pagkakataon mula 1965, hindi nagpahinga si Tita Cory. Ang simpleng nilalang sa loob niya ay nagpatuloy na tumulong sa bayan, sa pamamagitan ng Aquino Foundation at sa mga pakikibaka para sa mabuti at maginhawang lipunan.

Sa mga nakaraang buwan, naalala naman natin na itinuro niya kung paano tanggapin ang kamatayan, at kung paano ialay ang kanyang mga pagdurusa sa pananalangin para sa bayan. At maging sa karamdaman, at ngayon sa kamatayan, patuloy niya tayong pinagkakaisa.

Anumang pagkukulang at isyung kinaharap ni Tita Cory, nahihigitan ito ng kanyang karakter at kabutihang-loob. Ginawa at sinabi niya ang sa tingin niya ay tama, at ang simpleng nilalang sa kanyang kaibuturan ay patuloy na pinanghawakan ang pag-asa at tiwala sa mga Pilipino.

Sa kanyang pagkawala, muling magugunita ang Kapangyarihang Bayan kung saan siya ang naging simbolo ng pagkilos ng 2 Milyong Pilipino na naging simple sa isang pagkakataon at ipinakita ang lahat ng maganda sa Pilipino. Muling makikita ng kabataan ang kadakilaan ng kanilang bansa at lahi na sinisimbolo ng isang simpleng maybahay.

Purihin ang Diyos at nabuhay at nakasama natin ang isang Dakilang Pilipina, ang Ina ng ating demokrasya, naging Ina ng Bayan.

Patay na si Tita Cory, pero ipinasa niya sa atin ang pag-asa sa mas maginhawang Pilipinas. Buhayin natin ito sa ating puso, isipan, at gawa.

Patay na si Tita Cory! Mabuhay ang simpleng nilalang sa bawat Pilipino…

1 Agosto 2009, 9:43 NU, Lungsod ng Tarlac

Isang nakapangingilabot na alaala: Isang aklat na pinirmahan ni Cory Aquino para kay Xiao Chua eksaktong dalawang taon bago siya sumakabilang-buhay.

August 16, 2012

HUWAG NANG IPAGDIWANG ANG BUWAN NG WIKA

Dahil kaarawan sa Linggo ng Kanyang Kamahalan Pangulong Manuel Quezon na nag-adhika na magkaroon ng isang Pambansang Wika na batay pangunahin na sa Tagalog ngunit kabilang dapat ang mga salita mula sa ibang mga wika sa Pilipinas, kaibigan, tara, usap tayo… sa Filipino.

Madalas ako makakita ng mga karatula sa mga paaralan ngayon na ipinagmamalaki na “This is an English-Speaking Zone.” Diumano upang tayo ay maging “globally-competitive,” ipinatupad ng nakaraang administrasyon ang polisiya na halos lahat ng asignatura ay dapat itinuturo sa Ingles. Dito, kapag ikaw ay nagsasalita sa Ingles, kahit wala namang laman ang sinasabi mo, ang tingin sa iyo ay matalino. Sa isang mamahaling kolehiyo aming nakita minsan ni Dr. Zeus Salazar, “English is the language of leaders.” Sabi niya, “Bakit? Si Napoleon ba iningles ang mga Pranses? Si Mao ba iningles ang mga Tsino?”

Kahit marami ngayon ang “wrong grammar” sa paggamit ng Ingles, ipinagmamalaki natin na mas marami pa ring nagsasalita ng Ingles dito sa Pilipinas kaysa sa Inglatera. Kung totoo ito, bakit tila hindi tayo mga pinuno sa daigdig? Bakit tayo naghihirap? Bakit walang sapat na marangal na trabaho sa bansa na kinakailangan na matuto tayo ng Ingles upang magsilbi sa pangangailangan ng mga dayuhan sa mga kasambahay, nars at caregiver at tagasagot ng telepono? Bakit ang Hapon, Tsina, Europa ay mayaman kahit na maging ang mga CEO ng kanilang mga kumpanya ay bobo sa Ingles? Sapagkat ang biyaya ng edukasyon, ekonomiya at pulitika dito sa Pilipinas ay nananatili lamang sa mga marunong mag-Ingles. Ang may kontrol sa wika ay may bahagi sa kapangyarihan. Maraming dahilan kung bakit tayo mahirap, ngunit hindi ba’t kabilang dito ang katotohanang hindi talaga makasawsaw ang mas nakararami sa mga isyu ng pagkabansa? It’s the language, stupid.

Samahan niyo ako at hirayain natin (let’s imagine): Sa kabila ng iba’t ibang wika na nakapaloob sa Kapilipinuhan, tayo ay nagkakaintindihan sa isang wika na mula sa ating kapuluan. Ayon kay Dr. Salazar, “Gumagamit ng mga konsepto at ugali na alam natin lahat ang kahulugan, …pati ang relasyon ng mga kahulugang ito sa isa’t isa. Ito ay nangyayari lamang kung iisa ang ‘code’—ibig sabihin, may isang pangkabuuang pag-uugnay at pagkakaugnay ng mga kahulugan, kaisipan at ugali. Mahalaga (at pundamental pa nga) rito ang iisang wika.” Imbes na sa Ingles lamang nakalimbag ang Harry Potter o Twilight saga, ito ay isinasalin sa wikang mababasa na rin ng mas nakararaming Pilipino; na naglilimbag na tayo ng mga aklat ukol sa pilosopiya, quantum physics o quantum mechanics sa ating sariling wika; Na sa sistemang legal sa Pilipinas hindi na naagrabyado sa kaso ang mga mahihirap dahil wala silang maintindihan; Na naisasama na ang mahihirap sa biyaya ng ating ekonomiya dahil naiintindihan na nila ito; Na unti-unting nabubuo ang ating bansa dahil “nag-uusap tayo,” tulad ng sinasabi ni Boy Abunda, ukol sa ating sariling kasaysayan at karanasan, natutuklasan natin ang ating sariling lakas, at sa pagkakaintindihan nabubuo ang respeto sa isa’t isa, na nagbubunsod ng pagkakaisa sa kabila ng pagkakaiba-iba. Hindi ba napakaganda ng bansa natin kung ganoon?

Ito ang layunin ng Pantayong Pananaw at Bagong Kasaysayan, iskwelang pangkaisipan na sinimulan ni Dr. Salazar at patuloy na pinapanday ng mas nakababatang mga historyador (Para sa buong paliwanang, puntahan ang http://bagongkasaysayan.org), na sa pagbabalik-tanaw natin sa kasaysayan na “may saysay” sa atin, sa ating sariling wika, para sa bayan, mas maiintindihan natin ang ating sarili. Maliit kasi ang tingin natin sa ating sarili dahil sa mga “historia” na isinulat ng mga dayuhan sa kanilang perspektiba at nagturo sa atin na umasa lamang sa kanila. Bagama’t marami ang nagsusulat ukol sa ating kultura at kasaysayan, marami ang hindi nito naaabot dahil sa Ingles lamang nasusulat ang mga ito.

Hindi tayo maaaring maging “globally competitive” kung hindi tayo nagkakaintindihan bilang bansa at hindi matibay ang ating kultura. Sapagkat ang nais ng globalisasyon ay magkaroon ng isang kultura ang daigdig upang mabenta ang mga produkto ng mga dominanteng bansa. Magigising tayo minsan na wala na tayong pagkakakilanlan, na patay na ang ating pagkabansa tulad ng sinabi ni Simoun kay Basilio sa mga nobela ni Rizal. Imbes na mapakinabangan natin ang globalisasyon, magagamit lamang tayo nito.

May mga nag-adhika noon na Ingles na ang maging pambansang wika tulad nina Isidoro Panlasigui. Tinuruan na daw kasi ang Pilipino na magbasa ng Ingles, at may grupo na ayaw tanggapin ang Tagalog/Filipino bilang wikang pambansa. Ngunit, ibang usapan kasi kung naiintindihan talaga ang kayang basahin. Marami na sa kapuluan ang nakakaintindi ng Filipino dahil sa media. Ang wika kasi ay kultura. Ibig sabihin, hindi mairerepresenta ng isang dayuhang wika ang yaman ng ating kultura at damdamin tulad ng isang wika mula sa Pilipinas. Ang “rice” sa Ingles ay palay, bigas, kanin, bahaw, tutong, sinangag, lugaw at iba pa sa Filipino.

Kapuri-puri ang halimbawa ng Pangulong Noynoy Aquino na kausapin ang bayan sa wika nito. Nasa diwa siya ng kanyang ina na kahit elitista at Inglesera ay inutos sa kanyang Executive Order 335 na gamitin ang Filipino sa mga gawain ng estado. Ayon kay Adrian Cristobal noong 1988, “This…is what President Corazon Cojuangco Aquino can legitimately parade as her achievement…: That she has inducted the government and therefore the political realm into the same universe inhabited by the many….. It is her one true act of statesmanship, an act that bolder presidents couldn’t dare because of the loud objections of regional leaders…. This presidential act will do more for our nationhood than any gesture at leadership.” 1 Agosto kapwa namatay ang Pang Quezon (1944) at Pang. Cory (2009). Sana alalahanin din ang huli na tagapagtaguyod ng Wikang Pambansa sa buwan na ito at tunay na ipatupad ang kanyang magandang sinimulan.

Totoo, mahalaga pa rin sa akin ang matuto, magsulat at magsalita ng Ingles, at maganda pa nga matuto pa tayo ng Espanyol, Tsino, Aleman, Italiano, at iba pa. Ngunit mali na itaguyod ang dayuhang wika habang isinasakripisyo nating ang pag-usbong ng Filipino at mga wika sa Pilipinas hindi lamang sa akademya kundi sa pamahalaan at ekonomiya. Ito ay isang krimen sa ating kultura. Kung patuloy na ipapatupad ang “English Only Policy” sa mga paaralan, nag-aaksaya lang tayo ng panahon, huwag na nating ipagdiwang ang Buwan ng Wika.

Sa mga nagtataguyod ng Filipino at ng mga wika sa Pilipinas, huwag mag-alala. May kakampi tayo kay Emilio Jacinto, “tunay na [mahalaga ang] tao kahit laking-gubat at walang nababatid kundi ang sariling wika.”

Unang lumitaw sa pitak na “Walking History” sa Good Morning Philippines, 19 Agosto 2011.

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August 14, 2012

WE WON THE REVOLUTION

Xiao Chua at the balcony of the window where Gen. Emilio Aguinaldo proclaimed Philippine Independence on 12 June 1898 in Kawit, Cavite with Ms. AC Canete. Photograph by Jahm Guinto, 12 February 2012.

Yesterday, when I looked at the date 13 August, I knew it was an anniversary of a really important event that I always cite in my lectures in history and my tours, just didn’t figure it our immediately. Only later did I realize that it was the 114th anniversary of the Mock Battle of Manila in 1898, when the Americans won over the Spaniards and took over Manila after the Spaniards negotiated to just be allowed to have an honorable defeat. Since this is also the month of the start of the Philippine Revolution, this short piece I wrote for my former column “Walking History” from the former newspaper “Good Morning Philippines,” 10 August 2011:

When Ms. Rita Gadi asked me when and where the Philippine Revolution started in 1896, I was stupefied at first. How do you quickly explain that many witnesses produced many answers: Kangkong (23 August), Pugad Lawin (23 August), Bahay Toro (24 August), Sitio Gulod, Barrio Banlat (near Pasong Tamo now Tandang Sora Ave., 24 August), Balintawak (26 August). Historians Milagros Guerrero, Emmanuel Encarnacion and Ramon Villegas wrote in an article in 1996 that the now “official” August 23 Cry of Pugadlawin is erroneous (there was no such place name in 1896 maps of the area), and that it was possible that there were many cries as they were organizing people in different places. In a 1989 column anyway, Dr. Ambeth Ocampo cleared that all those other place names cited were in the area called “Balintawak.” So maybe it’s safer to call it Cry of Balintawak.

The possibility of many cries can be supported by two historians, Dante Ambrosio and Enrico Azicate who in 1995 tried to walk through the places cited in accounts and sure enough, a path can be established that can lead to that important battle in San Juan by early morning of 30 August known as “Pinaglabanan.”

Dr. Guerrero, et al suggested that instead of celebrating the uncertain 23 August cry, it’s better to commemorate the well documented establishment of the Revolutionary Government by the Kataastaasang Sanggunian of the Katipunan on 24 August at the house of Tandang Sora in Banlat. This is where Andres Bonifacio was elected as the first president of the first national government in the Philippines. This is when our bansa was born. With this, I agree with my mentor Dr. Guerrero.

A bigger problem than the contradicting facts of the first cry are misconceptions about the revolution itself. We Filipinos, regrettably, easily forget about the past. And worst, many times we commemorate and emphasize our defeats. By reading history written for us by foreigners, we look at ourselves in the point of view of the other. Thus our colonial mentality and inferiority complex which had a long term effect on us—we feel that all good things about us came from foreigners (remember learning about pamana ng mga Espanyol and pamana ng mga Amerikano?), and that “ginhawa” can only be attained if we go out of this country. One thing we tell ourselves is that we lost the Philippine Revolution, and it was the Americans who helped us defeat the Spaniards with the victory of the “Hero of Manila” Admiral George Dewey at the Battle of Manila Bay.

One major thing that I cherished learning from Dr. Jaime Veneracion in one of my graduate courses in UP Diliman is that he emphasized that we won the revolution against Spain and that we must credit ourselves for it as a people.

When Gen. Emilio Aguinaldo, tactically agreed to go abroad after his government made peace with the Spaniards, he negotiated with key American diplomats who verbally promised that they will help the Filipinos ensure their independence. One researcher from the National Historical Commission showed me a book by an American historian which stated that there was no evidence that the promise was ever given. This will show us how we must be conscious of perspective when reading history. Facts are not just facts.

On 1 May 1898, the seven-vessel Asiatic Fleet came to Manila Bay under Dewey and in the battle sunk all obsolete twenty Spanish ships. As Dr. Ambeth said, it was a “mismatch.” There was only one American casualty, and he didn’t die of battle wounds but of heat stroke! But Dewey did not have ground forces and so at this point they actually haven’t occupied the Philippines.

As the Americans were returning Aguinaldo back from Hongkong aboard McCulloch, many revolutionaries around the archipelago organized themselves again. Little by little, the Anak ng Bayan returned and took-over different towns from the Spaniards. After one of these battles, the Battle of Alapan, the Philippine flag made by Marcela Agoncillo, daughter Lorenza and Delfina Herbosa-Rizal, was unfurled at Teatro Caviteño in Cavite Viejo (Kawit) on 28 May. Thus we celebrate this as the start of the flag days.

Hearing about the continuous victories of the Filipinos in defeating the Spaniards who were our colonizers for 333 years, Gen. Aguinaldo acted quickly and at 4:02 PM on 12 June proclaimed Philippine Independence at the central window of his mansion in Kawit, [to] the tune of Julian Felipe’s Marcha Filipina Magdalo / Marcha Nacional Filipina. With this self-proclamation of V-S Day (Victory Over Spain), I believe that 12 June of every year is worth celebrating by every Filipino.

One of the 97 signers of the Acta was a certain Col. M.L. Johnson, assumed by many as the representative of Dewey who couldn’t come because it was his “mail day.” Historian J.R.M. Taylor clarified that he was not an official representative but a cinematograph operator. This shows that the Americans don’t have any intention to honor their word. American ground troops came and by 13 August, won against the Spaniards. Atop Baluarte de San Francisco Javier in Intramuros, the Stars and Stripes was raised for the first time. But it was a pre-negotiated battle, so the Spaniards can be defeated with honor, thus the monicker “Mock Battle of Manila.” Filipino troops marched to claim the old capital but they were stopped by the Americans. Sensing finally that the Americans were not to be trusted, he went to Bulacan, organized the Malolos Congress on 15 September, which gave birth to the First Constitutional Republic in Asia by 23 January 1899.

Although this victory was short lived as we fought once again in our war against the Americans, it reminds us that united, we can defeat any long-term problem battling us. With this I say, wake up and be inspired to greet every new morning as we proclaim our greatness. Good Morning Philippines!

Let me dedicate this column to my professor, Dante Ambrosio, who fought for our bayan and wrote about our constellations, thank you and goodbye. You are now part of the stars.

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August 12, 2012

WALKING HISTORY

Adoring the Manunggul Jar at the National Museum and learning about the common culture and belief of all Austronesians, the ancestors of Filipinos.

Hi this is Xiao Chua, a student of history.

…and it’s XIAOTIME!

This is my new blog which I created to anticipate the closure of my multiply blog, Ang Tarlakin (winner of the 2007 Wikipinoy of the Year for History) by December. I would also like to have a more accessible and permanent home for my more serious thoughts.

Earlier today, I toured two sets of people in Luneta and Intramuros — about a hundred or so college students, and then, some kids. In between being a student and teacher of history, I am a lakwatchero, who uses the spaces around us to teach history.

The past will always be a part of travelling. Yup. Everywhere we go, there are remnants and monuments of what used to be. But to many, the past is irrelevant. The dictionary definition of History is “the written record of past events,” and since we Filipinos did not keep records before the foreigners came, most of what we have read was their narratives on us in their perspective and language. We became too harsh on ourselves in the process—thinking we are an inferior, bad people. But try to view the past in the Filipino perspective, and we will be selling the idea that our best tourism asset is really our people. I was taught by my mentor, historian Dr. Zeus Salazar, that the root word of our equivalent term for History, Kasaysayan, is “saysay.” Saysay can mean “story” but it is also a word for “meaning.” Seeing in the past what is meaningful and relevant to us, the people? Hmmm, this sounds like a novel idea since we are coming from a perception that history classes are irrelevant and are the best sleeping pills.

Saysay of Lakwatcha

What does Lakwatcha really mean? Lakwatcha editor Ai Macalintal once asked me this question. Since I am not an expert on languages, I consulted mentors and friends. Dr. Nilo Ocampo of the UP Department of Filipino referred me to the Vito Castillo Santos’s “Vicassan’s Pilipino-English Dictionary,” in which it says Lacuacha is a word from the Spanish that means “truancy.” Truancy??? That explains why, when I asked Dr. Salazar and my friend Prof. Alvin Campomanes of the University of Asia and the Pacific what Lakwatcha meant for them, they both said it’s to loiter, roam around or promenade to shirk from duty.

Not a very positive word, it seems. But we all know that culture and words are dynamic and the people can redefine them over time. In this magazine, we can redefine lakwatcha to mean not just a vacation to get away from “the grey and frenzied hurly burly of the city life,” as Jose Mari Chan puts it. It can also mean to travel and know ourselves as a people by discovering our different and shared histories and cultures. Another mentor of mine Dr. Vic Villan of the UP Depatment of History, had another theory on how lakwatcha can mean to us. It can come from the Cebuano “lakaw,” or the Hiligaynon “lakat” and the Tagalog “lakad,” all refers to the act of walking.

Saysay in Lakwatcha

Aside from being a teacher and historian, I am a historian-on-board buses for Linangan Education Trips (which specializes in historical educational tours) which I have been doing since 2006. With this, I am able to lead students to remember the past in the spirit of the Katipunan’s “peregrinasyon.” I learned from Dr. Jimmy Veneracion that during the years after the Philippine Revolution of 1896, the veterans of the Katipunan, returned to their battlefields, in groups remembering their fallen comrades, mga kapatid, which they called “peregrinasyon” or pilgrimages (as when we have spiritual journeys to the Holy Land). When we travel to Fort Santiago, Banahaw, Biak-na-Bato, Mt. Nagpatong in Cavite, Luneta, Pinaglabanan, Corregidor, and many other places around the archipelago, we are honoring those who died before us so we can be free and have the opportunity to be good Filipinos.

Recently, I learned from the other tour company which hires my services, the Heroes Square Heritage Corporation (it owns the beautiful commercial building in front of Fort Santiago and it facilitates Intramuros tours with actors portraying historical personages for young kids) that in European museums, they call tour guides “docents.” It’s the first time I heard it used in the Philippines. For Heroes Square, the docent is not just a tour guide but is also a passionate teacher who teaches love of country. In the next blogs, I hope that you join me as fellow travellers in a “pereginasyon” to know how great a people we are. It’s time to recognize ourselves in the words of Tito Boy Abunda, “We are Filipinos, we are your best friends in Asia.”

I am proud to be a docent. I give meaning to lakwatcha. I am walking history…

This first post is dedicated to Dr. Ambeth R. Ocampo, whose birthday we celebrate tomorrow, for bringing me to the journey of history with his book Rizal Without The Overcoat when I was in grade 5. Reading him and trying to catch his tone I first realized how I wanted to be a cool history teacher just like him.

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Month: August, 2012