Hello there,
Could you ever recall your best field trip or most adventure in school? Well actually I had my field trip last August 28. I went to my school very early, it was around 5:30 in the morning. I saw my classmates swinging in the swings (wonderful), they saw me glaring at the swings. It was a fun day for them to swing (even though it looks so dark). I even heard them giggle like saying "Oh, what fun it is" and another classmate laughed at a tree telling them "You are such a funny looking tree are you!" Oh how they laughed, I wish I could join them. While that, the bus came and we had to come to the bus so we won't miss it. Actually, we were just 2 plus me so we were 3 so we waited for many minutes until the others came. We went off to the road and made some jokes, we laughed until we reached another bus station. The others were very many so we were stuffed up like roast turkey with lots of stuffings inside the turkey. We went to Manila, Fort Santiago. We saw the golden foot steps (means refers to where Jose Rizal walked going to Luneta Park) then we saw some painter's painting about Jose Rizal's death.
After that we saw his discovery about a flying lizard, a frog, and a beetle. We also saw Jose Rizal's prison cell; it was quite big. Actually, there was a statue of him. It was made out of wax, quite charming (just joking). Next up, we went to San Agustin Church. The tour lady said it was famous for weddings (even some of my classmates' parents got married here).
First, we went in the wonderful spot with statues and paintings. When we entered, our first scene was the priest's clothes and the materials for the communion. The others were just simple paintings/ sculptures. The scary part was when we reached the tombs because there were so many dead people buried. Some were of soldiers and their names were listed on the plaque. They were the ones who died when a bomb exploded. Second, the next room was where the priests used to eat their breakfast, lunch, and dinner. There was also these stairs that the priests knelt for penance.
Then, across the San Agustin Church was Casa Manila. It is a simulation of a typical house during the Spanish era in the Philippines. We went up through a big flight of stairs from the driveway designed for calesas to pass through. On the first landing, we saw typical bedrooms of unmarried members of the family or those who were widowed. On the second landing, there was the ante-sala which receives visitors while waiting to be led to the sala next door.
The sala is more decorative than the ante-sala. We saw different musical instruments that were used to be played for entertainment. The strange part there was the addition of a movable divider usually used for cover when changing clothes. Further on, was the oratorio which is the prayer room that houses the altar. They have life-size statues of Mary and the Crucifix. Beside the oratorio was called the Blue Room. Everything was blue, even the light. It is where the owners sleep when they have to give up their master's bedroom for their guests. Next was the master's bedroom. The room is really big and there are lots of mirrors even on the aparadors (closet). Everything in this room is big, including the bed.
We proceeded next to the third landing where we found the dining room, the kitchen and the bathroom. The dining room had a very long table and big chairs. Overhead were two giant abanicos (woven fans) attached to a lever and held by a string. In those days, the maids would hide behind the curtains and pull on these strings to make the fans move so that the diners wont feel too warm. Beside this room is the kitchen. It contained a brick oven for baking cookies and crackers and other Filipino desserts. I asked the tour lady "Do they cook pizzas during that time?" The tour lady said no.
The next room was where they bathe. Maids are the ones who supply water by bringing in pails of it and filling the vat. The most striking thing for me there were the two toilets sitting side by side and separated by an arm rest big enough to play chess on while one does his/her "thing". My classmates are very amused by this bit of information. I wonder if those people before can stand the smell of each other while they're there.
That was the end of our tour of Casa Manila, but we took time to write down our comments in their guest book before we left. My comment was: "I wish I had your toilet!"
We went to Bahay Tsinoy afterwards. We saw pictures of the Tsinoys who lived in Manila during those times. We saw some statues showing their typical life. My classmates found the statues realistic and very detailed. I even thought that the man there was real. I was amazed to learn that President Cory Aquino was also considered a Tsinoy. Then we went to another room where we saw a video documenting about the Tsinoys' life. This was the end of our tour. We boarded our bus and went back home.
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