Blast from the Past

 Last September 4, 2011, Lyceum of the Philippines University held an educational trip in Bataan for all the students taking history.It's a one day trip filled with laughter, road sickness, food,and of course,knowing the past. 

First of all, traveling to Manila in Quezon City at dawn is hard, so I thought, "Why not rent a room for a night?". So Jenny, my friend, and I decided to rent one, and obviously, we didn't get to sleep that much. Honestly speaking, the room is too small for both of us, we had roaches for company, we can hear neighbors singing in karaoke bars and basically we had so much to talk about. That night, we talked about the project of ours, ate balot and penoy( 'exotic' food in Philippines), made some crazy commercial about biscuits, and share some anime that we like and dislike. The thing that I will remember the most is the moment where I can't concentrate because of this certain cockroach.  I really wanted that roach to die that we even made a strategy just to kill it. She's the tracker and I'm the killer. Basically, she's the one who's telling me where it is, and I'm the one who's going to kill it with my slipper.

Going back, It was a bit disappointing how the trip went. We didn't really got the chance to see all the destination listed on our waver because we were behind schedule but I admit that the following are the places that I will never forget. It's San Guillermo Church, and Ang Dambana ng Kagitingan.

San Guillermo Parish Church is named after San Guillermo, the patron saint of Bacolor, Pampanga, the Philippines, where the church is erected. The church was originally constructed by the Agustinian Friars in 1576 - also the town's founding - with Fr. Diego De Ochoa, OSA, as the town's first parish priest.having been installed as such two years after.In 1880, the church was destroyed by an earthquake only to be rebuilt by Fr. Eugenio Alvarez in 1886. On September 3, 1995, lahar flow from the slopes of Mt. Pinatubo which erupted into world notice on June 15, 1991, buried the church at half its 12-m height prompting its more than 50,000 town residents to evacuate to safer grounds in resettlement areas. (from: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/San_Guillermo_Parish_Church )

I was really amazed how the church was buried. It's like I was taken back to the Spanish era because of its solemn atmosphere.

San Guillermo Church

Then, there is The Shrine of Valour or "Ang Dambana ng Kagitingan" located at the peak of Mt. Samat.Dambana ng Kagitingan, atop Mt. Samat in Pilar, Bataan , was built to commemorate the gallantry of approximately 75,000 Filipino and American soldiers led by Major General Edward "Ned" P. King, Jr. The most distinct feature of the shrine is the Memorial Cross, a 92-meter marble, steel and concrete structure built 555 meters above sea level. At the base is a sculptural bas relief that depicts important historical events and battles in the Philippines, which was built under the administration of President Ferdinand Marcos.( from :http://en.wikipilipinas.org/index.php?title=Dambana_ng_Kagitingan )

Honestly speaking, it's really tiring to climb Mt. Samat but, after I saw the Memorial Cross, I thought that it was worth it. It's really beautiful up there. I can really feel that that all of my efforts just to climb that mountain is paying off.

Memorial Cross

To end this post, all I want to say is, it is really fun to know the past. Some might say that it is boring, but for those people who's curious, it is never too late to see and feel the things that happened in the past.  

What makes the PRESENT is the PAST.