rizal going to singapore, and in sunny spain (chapter 6-7)
TRANSCRIPT
Going to Singapore On May 3, 1882.
Rizal departed boarding Salvadora bound for Singapore
On May 9, it docked Singapore
He saw Botanical Garden, Buddhist temples and the statue of Sir Thomas Stanford Raffles (founder of Singapore)
From Singapore, he transferred to another ship Djemnah on May 11
On May 17, it reached Ceylon (Sri-Lanka)
The following day, they reached Colombo, capital of Ceylon
Then it took them 5 days to traverse the Suez Canal
On June 11, Rizal reached Naples, Italian City
June 12, it reached the Marseilles
On June 16, 1882, they reached Barcelona
His first impression was unfavorable because he happened to stay in the town’s most ugly side but later changed his mind
While in Barcelona, Rizal wrote “Amor Patrio” (Love of Country) using his pen name Laong Laan
While in Barcelona he received sad news Cholera was ravaging Manila Leonor Rivera was getting thinner
because of his absence
Heeding the advice of his brother Paciano to finish his Medicine, he left Barcelona
On November 3, he went and enrolled in Madrid Unibersidad Central de Madrid taking Medicine and Philosophy and Letters
He also studied painting, French, German and English
Rizal lived a Spartan Life He lived frugally, never
wasting any peseta on wines and women
His only extravagance was investing in lottery
He spent his leisure time reading and writing
On Saturday evenings, he visited the home of Pablo Ortiga y Rey with his sone and daughter (Consuelo)
Rizal was not a handsome man but he possessed a charisma that made him attractive to women
Rizal being lonely in a foreign country, was attracted by Consuelo’s beauty
He found solace and joy in her company
But he suddenly backed out for 2 reasons
He was still engaged to Leonor Rivera
His friend and co-worker Eduardo de Lete was madly in love with Consuelo
During his first summer in Madrid , he visited Paris
At first he lived in Hotel de Paris but it was expensive so he transferred to a cheaper hotel
He visited the Opera house, Madelaine church, Column of Vendome
Church of Notre Dame and Versailles
In Spain, Rizal was in close contact with Spanish liberal and republicans who were members of Masons like Miguel Morayta
He joined the Masonic lodge called Acacia, to secure aid in his fight against the Spaniards in the Philippines
Later he transferred to Lodge Solidaridad and became a Master mason but he played a lukewarm role
Financial worries Due to locust and
drought in Calamba affecting their harvests
Increased of rentals by the Dominicans
At one time Paciano was forced to sell the pony of Rizal to send money to Madrid
One time , he was brole he was unable to take breakfast, he attended his class and participated in the contest in Greek Langauage and won gold medal
He was able only to eat dinner because he was invited as guest speaker in a banquet held in honor of Juan Luna (Spolarium, 1st prize)and Felix Hidalgo (2nd prize)
Rizal was involved in the students’ bloody riots in Madrid
It was due to the excommunication of Mr. Miguel Morayta , who proclaimed the freedom of science and the teacher
Rizal completed his Medical course in Spain in 1884
But he was not awarded the diploma because he was not able to pass his thesis nor paid the corresponding fees
He obtained the degree of Licentiate in Philosophy and Letters and qualified to be a professor
Being a man of intelligence and foresight, he knew that with his color brown and Asian racial ancestry, no friar owned school will accept his as a faculty member