NEW YORK, NEW YORK!

The last time I visited New York City was a few months after 911. My friend Susan Montepio and I went to Connecticut for a conference at the University of Connecticut, and afterwards, we went to New York. We stayed with her niece in uptown New York. New York then was very somber; there were few tourists around; people were surprisingly helpful and kind to us. We visited Ground Zero and still saw the fluttering notes on the wire fence surrounding the gaping land where the Twin Towers had stood.

This visit, New York, is quite different. It is crowded; it is teeming with life, and energy. There's been an unsual heat wave here and people have been in a kind of summer mode, eating al fresco, promenading about, many windows are open, and occupants actually wave their hands at us as we cruised by in the double decker circle line tour bus. And New Yorkers are once again gruff and rude! It's actually refreshing and funny, and really it's just their way of talking. The tour guides scream at the occupants: SIT DOWN! DIDN'T I TELL YOU TO SIT DOWN? And while my sister in law was haggling with a street vendor over a faux Coach purse, she said, "Oh, it's only $25 over there," the guy says, "You're a liar." It was so rude, we had to laugh.



Ah - but let me give you a brief rundown:

Day 1, we took an uptown and downtown tour with a stop in Battery park, walked to Ground zero, etc. The tour was great because I've visited New York before but never really saw the whole thing - I'd seen parts of it in snatches, but the bus tour goes all around Manhattan, giving you a very good idea of what the place and people are all about.



(We are staying in 414 Inn, on 46th near 8th, walking distance from Broadway and Times Square.)

Day 2: we took the ferry to the Liberty Island where the Statue of Liberty is, and we also went to Ellis Island. The statue of Liberty is still gorgeous - the sight of her is breathtaking - just beautiful, well-balance, her green patina a wonderful contrast against the blue sky. I've been to Ellis Island but it was the first visit for Lauren and his sisters, so it was fun to experience the place with them and their mom.

In the afternoon, we saw the musical Wicked, which was great! Glinda was very funny; we had a stand-in but she did an excellent job portraying the self-centered but charming Good Witch. I'd read the book and it was nice to see the musical version of the book.

Had dinner, and outside the restaurant, all up and down Broadway were street vendors. Sundays, the ticket-people are off, and so all the illegal street vendors come out. We started buying faux Louis Viutton and coaches purses, so cheap - $20, $25, and we picked up other purses for $5 dollars! And pashminas for $5 each - (even if fake, nice). etc. etc. We topped the evening with ice cream.

Oh, here's a bit of trivia about New York: it has 30,000 restaurants and only 5 gas stations.
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(Photo above with Statue of Liberty shows: Merwyn Bergquist, Paula Alix, Lauren Brainard, me, Kim Del Tiempo

Middle Photo shows: Paula Alix, Kim del Tiempo, Lauren Brainard, Merwyn Bergquist
Bottom Photo shows: Kim Del Tiempo, Lauren Brainard and Paula Alix)

UPDATE GETTYSBURG, PA

We visited the Eisenhower National Site, which was the home and farm of Dwight D. and Mamie Eisenhower. They bought the farm in 1950, after Eisenhower's 30 year military career. The farm/ranch is huge, and while the cattle is no longer there, apparently there had been 100 heads of cattle there, some of them prizewinning. The house of Eisenhower is spacious enough and unpretentious. It's a two-story house with a living room, a sun room, a dining room, a den, and office, and servants' quarters, kitchen; upstairs there are several bedrooms. It's decorated in the 1950s style, and the living room has gifts from foreign dignitaries, such as an antique rug from the Shah of Iran, painting from Prague, table from South Korea, etc. After Ike, American presidents were no longer allowed to keep such gifts.

Today's highlight was the tour of the battlefields of Gettysburg. This battle took place in various sections in this town over a period of three days. Some of the fighting took place in town, some of it on fields nearby. The area is huge, and now there are markers from various States to honor those who died or fought there. The figures are staggering: in a 3-day period some 52,000 were killed, maimed, or missing. General Robert E. Lee had gone north and attacked in Pennsylvania; he lost this battle. The South continued fighting for 2 more years, but had to surrender.

It's interesting history and names such as Jeb Stuart, Gen.George Meade, Gen. George Custer, Pickett, Ewell, Jenny Wade, etc. featured in this famous battle.

We saw a light diorama show before we took the actual driving tour, and it was a big help because the area covered is large (battle theater). The diorama gives you the idea of where north, south, east, west are, and where the skirmishes and fighting took place.

Apparently, it took some 50 years, before locals allowed Southeners to build memorials on the battle ground.

I am still considering if such waste of life is worth it all. Lauren says it is, because the South wanted to secede and continue slavery. I am not sure it is quite as simple as that, and I keep thinking of the Declaration of Independence staged in Philadelphia where a group of people broke off from England to have their own way of life.

More dire news about Burma: the military junta continues to terrorize the people there, and I have no idea what the world can do. While the UN and the world dither about what to do, monks, people who have simple staged a peaceful protest are being hurt and killed.

I know that this military junta will not get away with it, but I do not know - and I am curious - how and when they will reap what they have sown.

Valley Forge, Amish, Buddhist Monks in Burma

From Philadelphia, Lauren and I drove to Valley Forge where we visited the Center and drove around the National Park. The site is where George Washington's army camped from the Winter of 1777-1778. Some 2,000 cabins were built, and Washington had his headquarters there. The early part of their stay there was desperate and around 50% of the men abandoned camp (from 12,000 to 6,000). Then there were several things that happened. The Prussian Von Steuben joined Washington's army; Von Steuben trained 100 men military tactics and these men in turned trained others. The other important thing that happened was that France sided with America, which turned the tide of the war. The British had also done a couple of things that weakened their side: they decided to focus on saving their Caribbean colonies; and they withdrew from Philadelphia.

The Valley itself is beautiful, green, lush, although in 1777, the trees had been cut and the forest denuded.

What I understood, which was a new idea to me, was that the Americans were at this point quite organized. I always had the idea that they were a ragtag guerrilla group, but they were more sophisticated than that.

On the way to Gettysburg, we drove through the Lancaster area where we saw quite a lot of Amish people in their horse and buggy, or biking or working in their fields. The farm restaurant where we had lunch had a magnificent view of some farms where a couple of Amish farmers were working. There was something reassuring watching them with their teams of 4 horses as they cleared their land; perhaps it's their simplicity, their closeness to the earth that gives me that feeling. The Amish, Quakers, Buddhist monks - they seem to me to be people of God (I am generalizing of course).



The farms the Amish have are huge and they have silos and barns, giving the impression that they are well-off financially, although they are very low-key and keep to themselves. The Mennonites are the ones who have more contact with the tourists; they run shops, stores, and use machines, unlike the Amish.

Now here's an interesting sight: Amish barn-raising with the use of the crane - yes, we saw this. But there was a chance this was a Mennonite barn-raising, and Mennonites use machinery.

AND NOW another update about the Buddhist monks in Burma, this news from the BBC and USA Today. Can such tyranny continue?

"• The BBC reports that about 4,000 Burmese monks detained during pro-democracy demonstrations will be shipped from Rangoon to prisons in the north. For now they are being held at a race course and a technical college, according to sources from a government-sponsored militia. They spoke with BBC radio's Burmese service.

The monks have been disrobed and shackled, the sources said, and the monks reportedly are refusing to eat.

• There is recent news that Buddhist monks are trying to leave Rangoon, and have been seen in railway and bus stations. Bus drivers have reportedly been refusing to take them for fear they will be refused petrol.
. Curfews and night time raids continue in Rangoon, and there is a climate of fear as well as anger there. The Monks are still refusing to accept alms from the military; many are on a hunger strike; the detained monks are refusing to change out of their traditional robes. Meanwhile, there are reports of people taking turns to guard monasteries against night time raids."

Philadelphia and Map of Old Cebu

Lauren and I arrived Philadelphia yesterday and toured today: Independence Hall where the Declaration of Independence and American Constitution were signed, Constitution Hall, Christ Church where Benjamin Franklin, George Washington, Betsy Ross, John Adams, Francis Hopkinson and others worshipped; cemetery of Christ Church where Benjamin Franklin and other signers of the Declaration are buried; Betsy Ross house, Benjamin Franklin's house, etc. The history is fascinating of course, but what hit me most of all is the fact that the Constitution is not a done-deal; it is a living document. It took a while before African Americans actually got their freedom, it took a while before women could vote; there is a need for constant vigilance about freedom.


This is my first visit to Phillie and didn't know what to expect. I thought maybe it would look like Boston, but it's different. The old section is gentrifying, and many of the old brick buildings are still intact. We also drove around the downtown section, saw the high rises, and the museums. Phillie is not without charm, at least the old section. It is clearly gentrifying, and even with the restored colonial buildings and the art galleries, restaurants, and hotels, there are still some seedy sections. But it feels safe to walk around even at night, and it feels as if it will develop even more.
On another topic, here is a map of Old Cebu, known as Escondrilla's map, dated 1873, courtesy of Melva Java and Louie Nacorda. Another Cebu trivia: Sangcianko street used to be Vasco de Gama, info courtesy of Resil Mojares and Louie Nacorda.