Mommy Mondays: learning trips

Sibika is hard enough for Noah because of the language barrier. So imagine how hard it is for him to memorize practically-alien terms as well as understand the terms' meaning or significance in Filipino. Last December, his Sibika lessons had to do with places in the Philippines. It started with Mga Magagandang Tanawin sa Pilipinas (Beautiful Places in the Philippines) like Bulkang Mayon, Pagudpod Beach, San Juanico Bridge, Banaue Rice Terraces, Pasonanca Park & Talon ng Maria Cristina. He had to memorize the places' names in Filipino, as well as a description of the sight & the province where they can be found. Then they moved on to a lesson on Mga Makasaysayang Pook sa Pilipinas (Philippine Historical Places). There were a total of 6 historical places in his lesson, 4 of which were found in Metro Manila (unlike the places in his previous lesson). So on the Sunday of that week, I decided to take Noah on a learning trip. I figured a real experience would make it easier to recall the new set of difficult-to-remember places.

First stop was Luneta Park. 

Noah got to see Rizal's Monument in full color vs the small black & white photo in his book. I told him this was where Rizal was shot and that it used to be called "Bagumbayan". He of course had to ask why we couldn't go near it (it was cordoned off), why the guards didn't move, and if the guards would move if tickled.

Second stop was Fort Santiago. 

Noah enjoyed Fort Santiago. He got to ride a kalesa (horse-drawn carriage). He even sat in front with the kutsero (carriage driver).

He had fun literally following the footsteps of Rizal. We just went the wrong way so Noah was walking in the opposite direction.

He did enjoy comparing the size of his foot to Rizal's.

And even his height vs. the Jose Rizal statue in his jail cell.

I think this is what helped with Noah's lesson best. He got to see Rizal in a jail cell. How easy will it be now to remember that Fort Santiago was where Rizal was imprisoned?

My Lola (my grandmother from here & here) was actually imprisoned in Fort Santiago as well. So Noah kept asking where Lola's jail cell was. He was obsessed with finding it, searching the place, until we found the dungeons and assumed that was where Lola was imprisoned.

I thought Noah would be eager to get out of the sweltering heat after going through the Fort Santiago gate. But he was still interested to explore the plaza (Plaza Moriones) between the ticket booth (first gate) and the real Fort Santiago gate. He even ran to this Jose Rizal monument in the middle of the plaza and right under the hot sun.

I was horrified when I saw this photo because I thought he was pretending to pee - a signature photo op pose of the hubby. But Noah was genuinely observing the monument. Ooohh, real learning!

He got a photo taken as a cardboard guard and with a real-life guard!

Noah pretended to smoke General MacArthur's pipe. It was only when I saw the photos that I realized his mouth actually touched the pipe. Horror!

He also (eeep!) tugged at the cross of some priests.

Noah played in this shaded area for a while. The Fort Santiago map says these were American Barracks Ruins. He pretended to fire the canon...

And tried to pull this (is-it-called-a-)bullet? 

After tugging on a few more bullets, we finally left Fort Santiago.

The last two weren't actually stops... because we just drove past them. I just told Noah to watch out for them through the window. We passed Espana going home so Noah could catch a glimpse of the Unibersidad ng Santo Tomas, where Jose Rizal studied. 

We also drove by Ortigas Avenue so Noah watched out for the EDSA Shrine (where today's historical event took place), the last on our list of Manila historical places.

Noah scored very well in his Sibika test. I don't know for sure if it was because of our little learning trip. I do know the learning trip has turned out to be a gift that keeps on giving. You see, before heading to UST that Sunday in December, since we were already in Manila, we also drove by the Intramuros Walls, Binondo Church and the Bonifacio Monument. Last week, Noah's Sibika lesson was Philippine Heroes and when we got to Andres Bonifacio, I asked him if he remembered the Bonifacio Monument from our learning trip. He did! And now, with that vision in his head of the monument with people fighting with swords and the KKK flag, it is easy for Noah to remember what Andres Bonifacio did for our country.

Turns out, tutoring need not be limited to worksheets. Real-life experiences are a fun way of tutoring your children. 

Photos are all my own.

Click here for previous posts from the Mommy Mondays series.

Whimsical Wednesday!

You won't believe who are on the cover of Mega Magazine's February 2013 issue... Betty & Veronica! Turns out it is their first magazine cover ever! How whimsical is that?

I grew up reading Archie Comics. Even Isabella reads them. So I found it so surreal to see them gracing the cover of a Philippine magazine donning couture by top Filipino designers. On the cover, Betty is in a Veejay Floresca creation and Veronica's gown is by Cary Santiago.

Here, Veronica is clad in a daring ensemble by Inno Sotto and Betty's dress is from Furne One.

The newly-launched MAC Archie's Girls color cosmetics collection is what got these comic book icons on the cover of Mega.

It's so adorable how the Betty color collection captures Betty's sweet girl-next-door personality in pinks, peaches & sheer plums... 

A stark contrast to Betty's collection, Veronica's is seductive in vivacious reds, blackened plums & deep violets... The contrast nodding to the epic rivalry between Archie's girls.

Both collections celebrate the distinct personas of these two beloved characters. Not only through the color palettes, but also through the variant names. Betty's collection included names like Girl Next Door, Summer Sweetheart, Pep Pep Pep, Stay Sweet and Kiss & Don't Tell. Aren't they characteristically Betty?

On the other hand, Veronica's collection included names like Daddy's Little Girl, Boyfriend Stealer, Mall Madness, Past Curfew and Prom Princess.

How can you not swoon over full color cosmetics collections (No, they don't just come in lipsticks & gloss.) that remind you of your girlhood with your nose buried in a double digest - reading about the Riverdale gang's adventures in and out of Pop's Choclit Shoppe? Am not sure if I just missed it, but I didn't find MAC's Archie's Girls collection in this whimsical Mega issue (View more of the collection here). The issue did have a surreal interview with Betty & Veronica, as if they were real people.

Indeed, it was a whimsical issue! Love that even Mega Magazine EIC, Sari Yap, was drawn by American illustrator for Archie Comics, Dan Parent.

So put on some MAC lipgloss, grab your copy of this month's Mega issue & maybe even a Betty & Veronica Double Digest, and have a whimsical Wednesday!

Photos are my own and from here & nitrolicious.

Click here for previous posts from the Whimsical Wednesday! series.

it's always sunny in the Philippines!

Seriously. It's always sunny in the Philippines! Even when we are in a state of calamity because of flooding from these torrential rains. I love that the sunny disposition of Pinoys does not ever waver.

I guess it's perfect that the sun is part of the Philippine flag. And while Philippine History classes teach very different meanings to this symbol, I think they should add our sunny disposition to the list! It's no wonder we wait with smiles and good spirits until the sun rises again on Manila.

It warms my heart to hear about these nice words an American said about the Filipino people.

Aren't you proud to be Pinoy?

Photos from my Facebook news feed.

Click here for a post on how you can help out and show that Filipino spirit.

Color Obsession: red

With the state of calamity that Metro Manila and neighboring provinces are in, I am so thankful to the Philippine RED Cross for mobilizing and responding to the flood-stricken victims of this continuous southwest monsoon rains.

This RED campaign (am not sure if it's an actual campaign, but these are the cover photos on their home page, which, incidentally, looks much better than the American Red Cross site!) is pretty impressive and inspiRED.

As early as Tuesday, the PRC deployed these Amphibian vehicles to help people in need. They say these vehicles can carry about 5 tons of cargo and 34 passengers (including the operator).

According to ANC, count of affected families has reached over 267,000 as of today. And so I am so thankful for these RED-clad rescue teams.

The Philippine RED Cross also makes it so easy for us to help out! My village has been safe from flood so far, but neighbors say that the flood is waist-deep outside our village. So I am so glad I can still help out by simply texting RED<space>AMOUNT to 2899 (Globe) or 4143 (Smart). You can donate in the following denominations:

Globe: 5, 25, 100, 300, 500 or 1000

Smart: 10, 25, 50, 100, 300, 500 or 1000

I love that there are really small denominations that even Isabella can make a donation! Other ways to donate can be found here.

Let's all do our part. Let's donate or volunteer and pray for the safety of our flood-stricken countrymen. And please, even if the curly fries in that RED carton is so tempting, please don't call for food delivery! Let's keep those delivery guys in RED (or orange) safe as well.  

Photos from redcross, here and here.

Click here for previous posts from the Color Obsession series. Click here for a previous post on a Color Obsession with RED.

of peekaboos & panels

This is what I loved about Project Runway Philippines Season 3 winner, Milka Redoble's finale collection: the peekaboos & panels.

The curved panels & layers are subtly reminiscent of her collection's muse: the Musa, genus term for the banana. They certainly added interesting detail to her monochromatic looks & structured silhouettes. I found her subtlety & restraint quite impressive. Her chosen inspiration could have led her down the wrong path -- going over-the-top with the silhouettes or horribly literal with the color palette (Can you imagine if her collection was in yellows, greens & plums? Gah!). 

The curved panels also put an interesting twist to color-blocking. Am not loving the silhouette of the top, but the skirt is quite fabulous. The uneven peplum (I call it pumi-peplum, hehe) is also of interest.

But what I loved most about this winning collection is the peekaboo lining. None of the photos caught it, but that 3rd dress in the topmost photo actually had plum peeking out of the pockets. The official PRP photo here of the 1st dress also failed to catch the black lining peeking at the slit. You see a little in the topmost photo and more of it in the photo from MEGAstyle. My absolute favorite peekaboo lining (though am not a big fan of the bodice) is this...

I looove those curvy stripes running underneath! Many have called Milka an intelligent designer and I have to agree. I found it amazing that her quietly understated details made such a loud but elegant statement.

Photos from Megastyle, here and here.

Click here for the down-in-the-dots version of this post - the one about the PRP runway show I did watch. Click here for previous posts on subtlety.

a taste of China in Manila

By the time this post gets published, I will again be pleasing my palate with Hong Kong's best buns here. So while I enjoy a taste of China in Hong Kong, let me leave you with a taste of China in Manila: the gastronomic delights of Ivan Man Dy's Big Binondo Food Wok.

The tour, which let us nibble our way around Chinatown, started at the plaza in front of the Binondo church. The first stop was at a volunteer firemen's coffee shop on Ongpin Street. They served us Kiampong and fishball soup.

Ivan, our tour guide, said that the trick is pouring a little soup over the Kiampong which tastes even better when moist.

The next food stop was Dong Bei Dumplings on Yuchengco Street.

Ivan gave a short history lesson about dumplings and their Northern Chinese origin. He also told us about the idea behind lauriat or why Chinese dinners are always brimming with pleasant noise. I, of course, did not catch all this, but Isabella says the pleasant noise is for good luck. We actually contributed to the pleasant noise as we gobbled up several servings of the delish dumplings!

Don't think this was really part of the tour. But it sure put a taste of Manila in this Chinese walking tour.

Then we walked to Benavidez Street via Ongpin Street.

I don't have a photo of the place where we chomped down crispy siopaos, which means "hot buns" in Chinese. Ivan pleasantly joked about the myth of catmeat-filled siopaos which I thought would horrify my cat-lover Isabella, but she didn't believe a word of it.

The next stop was at popular bakery, Ho-land, where yummy hopia or bean-filled pastry can be found.

The last stop of the palate-pleasing tour was the New Po-Heng Lumpia House where we sampled authentic Chinese lumpia. The lumpia had fresh vegetables in it that were accentuated by the spicy sauce that was poured over it. Ivan even recommended to add a special concoction with garlic that added an extra bite to my lumpia. The Big Binondo Food Wok was an interesting history lesson and gastronomic experience, as I read somewhere, "carefully wrapped like the lumpia with all the necessary ingredients to entice the mind and tastebuds of every Chinatown tourist".

For some odd reason, at the time of this posting, the Old Manila Walks site here is down. You should be able to book your tour via the site. If not, maybe you can try to message Ivan via his Facebook wall here.

Photos are my family's own in pages from one of Isabella's old scrapbooks. 

freedom day

My Lola (my grandmother from here) used to tell us stories about the time of the Japanese. Her stories about the Japanese Occupation of the Philippines were not very pleasant. She told us about the time she had to hide inside a rolled-up banig (woven mat) so the Japanese wouldn't find her.

I realize that I take Independence Day for granted. I guess I don't realize what it means not to be free. But now that I think about it, it would be horrible to use a banig as a hiding place like my Lola did. I am certainly glad that I am free to have picnics with the kids. That is a way better use of a banig, don't you think?

Philippine independence from the Japanese (and Americans) came on July 4, 1946 when the Treaty of Manila was signed by the US and the Philippines. The treaty recognized the independence of the Republic of the Philippines and relinquished American sovereignty over the Philippine Islands. From 1946 to 1963, Independence Day was observed on July 4. In 1964, the date of Independence Day was changed to June 12 and July 4 was renamed as Philippine Republic Day.

Whether Independence Day is July 4 or June 12, what's important is that, thanks to my Lola, I now have a better appreciation of what freedom means. Maybe I should plan a picnic this weekend to celebrate our independence.

Photo from amischmashedlife. Philippine Independence Day information came from Wikipedia.

God's art

By now, I'm sure you've heard about DOT's latest campaign itsmorefuninthephilippines.

Every time I do touristy things on out-of-the-country trips, I find myself thinking of the beautiful sights in the Philippines. Most foreign tourist attractions are man-made while the Philippines is blessed with the most majestic natural resources that it is a shame very few know about it.

They say that the DOT campaign has limited budget but will primarily be spent on billboards in foreign countries. I certainly hope more of the world will see the beauty that God created in the Philippines.

Don't you agree that these Philippine sights are truly God's works of art?

Photos from here. Am not sure if these are official itsmorefuninthephilippines ads from BBDO. But they are beautiful nevertheless. Click here for the campaign's main site.

Click here for the downinthedots side of this campaign. Click here for previous posts from the Art series. Click here for a previous post on how God made stripes.

113 years of freedom

Today is the 113th birthday of our Independence! While the Spanish, American and Japanese rule enriched Philippine culture in countless ways, it is still great to be free! 

Happy Independence Day!

And yes, I lucked out on this photo with polka-dotted candles! :)