Simbro_08

My name is Juan Miguel de Velazquez and I'm currently finishing my studies at the University of Santo Tomas Manila - Philippines. However, I come from a small city called San Jose, it's in Central Visayas. I usually fly to Manila every couple of days, only cost P3000 pesos and I can get there in less than 1hr. Anyway, this is our City of San Jose. That redish brown Spanish style building is called Residencia de Gobernador and that avenue infront of it is known as Victor de Velazquez Boulevard (named after my Grand Father). From right to left is Residencia de Vilazquez (home of my Grand Parents), Plaza Mart, below is Cardinal Lim's Residence, next to that is Bureau of the Interior and above that is San Christobal Chapel. This is Villa de Cabral, it's where I live. It's one of the poshest & oldest districts in San Jose City. Our house is right next to Juan de Baptiste Church, (the one with the fountain) It's in old Spanish colonial style house. Below us is Andalucia subdivision, the ones with the colored roofs and next to that is Ponce de Lopez St, its where the pobres live or squatters (as we call them). Old San Christobal Cathedral This is San Christobal Cathedral, one of the oldest Churches in the Philippines, established by Juan Sebastian Elcano. Above that is New Plaza Mart and next to it is Palacio de Elcano. Rumors have it that gold is stored within the catacombs of the Cathedral, but no one has dared to venture and look for it as it's said to be guarded by the Conquistador himself. Here is the city at night. Birds Eye view of Downtown San Jose. Different angle of Residencia de Velazquez and Cardinal Lim's residence. San Sebastian Cathedral at night along with Tong Lee China Town.. See the Chinese, & various other styles. Filipino architecture has always been very much influenced by foreign cultures that what has come out overtime is a blend of designs. Looks like Cardinal Lim is holding Midnight mass. View of Palacio Elcano at night. Anyway, growing up in San Jose has never really been very hard for me, having been born in a wealthy family, which is why I guess I've never really had any fascination or interest in general to history, let alone the history of my family because of the money I have. All I used to care about was shopping, hanging out with friends, partying, chicks and booze. I mean I've never really had to worry much about anything because I grew up being the only child in a pretty well off and established family, with both my parents having very successful careers. My dad Eduardo de Vilazquez (who's part Spanish) has his own shipping business providing electronic ship parts to Hyundai in Korea, Japan and China as well as America, Great Britain and Germany. My mother Mei Xing Lee de Vilazquez (who's part Chinese) is a very well known Physician & Doctor of Medicine. I on the other hand am studying business, aiming to graduate with MBA this year providing I keep up my high honors, so in terms of education and material wealth, I'm pretty much set up. However, the passing of both my grandparents (whom I loved to pieces) just recently has somewhat opened my eyes to the reality that life is not infinite, that death does not choose, that someday it could also happen to me or my parents. I suppose that it's because of this that I've come to realise just how precious life is, that I should try to live it to the fullest and in some way or another try to find out my family's own origin, where we came from, why we're here and why were my ancestors so very well higly regarded. I guess the passing of my grandparents in a way for me is like the passing or the end of an era, an era so colourful and vibrant with totally different attitudes when compared to today's time. Back then as grandma told me, the only thing that mattered was status & wealth because these would determine one's own life and destiny. I just feel sorry for others sometimes that they weren't so fortunate as I am. For them, being born into poverty is not something one is proud of, nor is it an easy life to live. I mean living in San Jose for a rich kid like me is easy, but seeing poor people outside our house begging on the streets for money & food, having no place live or clean water to drink and wash in with absolutely no education and no education in the Philippines means no future. I guess what has happened recently has not only changed my views on life, but has made me more aware of my surroundings. It's made me appreciate more of what I have and now not only do I feel that it's my duty to help them out, but also to find out where my family came from & how we gained our wealth & status. I don't think my own life's view would've changed or that I'd feel differently towards others if my grandparents hadn't died. Now I want to learn, I want to know everything about my family's own history. Life works in many mysterious ways and it has a way of hitting you in the face; I suppose youth is still on my side though.

@ Cryos09- Thanks pare.

Hi Guys and welcome to my CJ Pearl of the Orient. This is my first CJ dedicated solely to my homeland, its people and our culture. In this CJ, we will witness the telling of a story through the eyes of a young Filipino as he travels, unfolds and discovers the legacy of his family, taking us on on a journey spanning over 400 years (4 stages) of Philippine history, from the discovery of the archipelago by Ferdinand Magellan, to the founding of Manila right through the wars of Independence and the return of General Douglas McArthur as he liberates the country from Japanese occupation. Hopefully this CJ will help to shed new light on the true typical filipino culture and way of life and also . I realise that the buildings I use in this CJ are not 100% accurate, but this is something I cannot avoid since there are no Filipino BATs around, so this is another project I'm working on to fix by creating BATs of my own. Hopefully I will be able to complete some before I finish this CJ, but I would gladly welcome anyone who would like to help me create these BAT's since this project is big and will take time. I am Filipino and creating this CJ is one of my life's ambitions, so please feel free to contact me anytime if you'd like to know more information regarding my project or if you'd simply like to help. Anyway, here it is hope you like my CJ.

So yeah Iike I've been living in the Philippines for a while now. Right, what happened? Well I had originally left Guam to join my family in Bacolod, but then I went to Manila at a very early age, to perform in a singing competition. I had to go to Manila for that. Ooh so then what? Well I came in second place but I mean.... Ding! we are currently performing last minute procedures before we touch down at Guam international airport, so could you all please return to your seats and fasten your seatbelts. Thank You Ding! sa kasalukuyan kami ay gumaganap huling minuto mga pamamaraan bago namin touch down sa Guam internasyonal na paliparan, sa gayon maaari mong lahat ng maaring bumalik sa iyong upuan at sarahan ang iyong seatbelts. Salamat. Oh would you look at that.. That must be Hagåtña up ahead. Look over there, can you see the airport? Yes, wow we're very close now. An aerial view of Guam's capital Hagatna and the newly upgraded Guam International Airport Wow it looks so much different from the last time I was here. See Agan Heigts just behind the Airport, wow those buildings weren't there before. Yes it looks very beautiful and just look at that beach out there, and the reefs too. The ocean is so blue. Yeah That's Sinajana and just infront of the airport s Mongmong-Toto-Maite & Barrigada. Hey that's Tamuning, that's where my uncle lives. Tamuning and that's South Acres Just look at the archietecture, it's almost like a mixuter of American and Camorro-Spanish. Yep, that's because we're part of US territory, but before that Guam was a Spanish Colony, part of the Spanish East Indies. I can also see some Japanese & Chinese buildings down there too. Well Guam does have a lot of Japanese people living here and during the war many Japanese settlers came to the Island from the neighbouring Saipan, which was then under Japanese rule. But I suppose the mixture of buildings and archietecture only adds to the beauty and diversity of the island right? Absolutely and without all these cultures merging into one place, I think we'd see a very different Guam. Look down there, see those buildings? Yes? That's the original location of the Camorro Village. That place hasn't change would you believe since the Spaniards arrived. Wow. And that place till now is still the capital of the Camorros. Camorro Village and see there, that's the Marina Very nice! Ok well I guess this is it Our approach and landing at Guam International Airport Ding! Ladies and Gentlemen, Cebu Pacific welcomes you to Guam. We hope that you've enjoyed this trip with us. On behalf of Cebu Pacific, thank you for flying with us and enjoy your stay. Please remain seated till we arrive at the gate. Well at least we made it. Yes, thank God. Now all we have to do is meet up with my uncle . Hafa Adai!

Ding! Good afternoon everyone this is your captain speaking. We are currently flying at 10 thousand feet and have begun our decent on GuamInternationalAirport. Outside temperature is 30o Celsius and 40o at Hagåtña. The time at our local destination is 3pm in the afternoon. For all those flying onwards from Guam, please don’t forget to fill out your transfer papers which should then be brought to the airport transfers desk. For those ending their journey here, I wish you a pleasant day and hopefully we’ll see you again soon. On behalf of Cebu Pacific, I and our flight crew, we thank you for choosing and flying with Cebu Pacific. Mabuhay! Ding! Magandang hapon sa lahat na ito ay ang iyong pagsasalita kapitan. Kami ay kasalukuyang paglipad sa 10,000 mga paa at sinimulan ang aming kapita-pitagan sa GuamInternationalAirport. Sa labas ng temperatura ay 30o Sentigrado at 40o sa Hagåtña. Ang oras sa aming mga lokal na destinasyon ay 3:00 sa hapon. Para sa lahat ng mga paglipad pataas mula sa Guam, maaring huwag kalimutan na punan ang iyong mga papeles transfer kung saan ay dapat pagkatapos ay dinala sa desk paliparan transfers. Para sa mga nagtatapos ng kanilang paglalakbay dito, gusto ko sa iyo ng isang kaaya-aya sa araw at sana kami makita kayong muli sa lalong madaling panahon. Sa ngalan ng Cebu Pacific, ako at ang aming flight tripulante, pasalamatan namin kayo para sa pagpili at paglipad sa Cebu Pacific. Mabuhay! Well I guess that's us Yup! So this guy we're meeting, what time did he say we could see him again? You mean my Uncle? Yeah, sorry I meant him. Well he said that he'd see us at 5pm So I guess that leave us with just over an hour then upon arrival. I guess so. So this uncle of yours, what does he actually do? He's a history professor at the University of Guam. I see... He studied at the University of Seville Spain where he lived for a few years. Seville? Yes. He's also an experienced Archeologist, he's been to Chichen Itza; you know where that is right? Yes it's a MayanTemple in Mexico, on the Yucatan. Yup, he was part of a team that led one of the first excavations on the temple ruins. I went there with him when I was 13. Wow! So I guess he's pretty well known then? Oh yes, he's a leading expert on the Island when it comes to history and archeology. I haven't seen him in like 6 years though, since I left for Cebu. In fact I lived in..... Wait! There it is....Guam or as Ferdinand Magellan called it "Islas de Velas". Aerial View of Guam As I look out to get a glimpse, I just couldn't believe how beautiful this Island was. To the North you could see the city of Hagåtña as we slowly approached, whilst to the South lay the vast coral reefs in the middle of a lagoon surounded by long sandbars either side. Wow! I never thought that I'd be going back to my homeland. Hey check that harbour out. Those must be US Navy Ships? Yeah that's ApraHarbour. Apra Harbour is a port of call for the US Navy's Pacific fleet. Although Guam has a semi-detached relationship with the United States, it is still considered part of US territory. Also due to its strategic location, the US has found it hard to grant Guam full independence as the threat of nearby rogue states such as North Korea continues to grow. My Dad worked there before we moved to the Philippines. Apra dry docks Another Key reason why Apra Harbour retains its importance is due to the islands dry dock where cargo & military vessels can be repaired. In fact, Guam is the only island territory of the US within the Asian/Pacific Sphere to have dry docks making it such an important naval base. So what about your mother? Well my mother owns a farm in the Philippines. Both my parents run it now and they tend to the livestock. Like farmers? Yes. This Harbour is Massive, look at all that cargo below. Apra Harbour is a natural harbour located within a lagoon flanked by a sandbar along the west coast seperating it from the Philippine sea on the other side. To East is another lagoon connecting it to the main island whilst to the North are the mountains of Guam. Ooh what's that down there? Looks like native huts. Ah, that's a Native Comorro Village. Comorro? What are they like? They're very nice peaceful people, the original inhabitants of the Mariana Islands way before the Spaniards arrived. Right, well we have similar natives in the Philippines. Yes, like the Apu and the Negritos. Correct. Native Comorro village Flying high up you can see what seems to be a native Comorro village. They're very peaceful as Maria has said, but also they're very simple and tend to exist in small agricultural communities, supporting eachother through trade of food and livestock. Those Chinese containers look huge. Yes, well when I was a small kid, I used to hang out the docks where my Dad worked. He used to carry me on top of his shoulders to see all the big ships that would dock here from all over the world. Port Apra Asides from US military presence, Apra Harbour is the main industrial port on the island. In fact, goods from all over the world especially the United States, China & the Philippines arrive here every day. US merchant ships tend to deliver raw resources to the island such as coal, oil and gas since Guam lacks these, whilst Chinese imports bring in food, electronic goods and clothing. Flying Past Apra Harbour we near Hagåtña and Guam International Airport.

@ Kench-I bought my copy here in the UK, sorry if I misunderstood you before.

Thanks guys, will be adding another update soon.

Hi Guys and welcome to Guam.

@ Simsheens - Just wait for it because I'm still creating the next update.                              Luv ya too pangga.

I've been playing on the Guamtopia map, haven't had this before but all of a sudden my road lights aren't all the same colour, some are blue, yellow, green, pink etc. I am just posting this up to ask whether anyone else has experienced this before? Simbro_08