Illinois, USA: Springfield, Illinois and Abraham Lincoln

Springfield, Illinois is the hometown of President Abraham Lincoln. All over this state capital are images, symbols and historical landmarks that remind us of Lincoln, his life and his times.

I found out that the Lincoln Tomb was in the Oak Ridge Cemetery in front of our hotel. So I made sure to wake up early to visit before we left for our tour of Springfield. The burial room was closed when I got there since it opened later in the morning.

After breakfast at the hotel, we proceeded to the grand and elegant Illinois State Capitol for a guided tour. The Illinois State Congress was in recess so there was not much activity when we got there. We got to see the assembly halls of both the Senate (where Barack Obama once sat as a state senator) and the House. We were also shown the governor's office as well as the hall which used to house the Illinois Supreme Court before it transferred to another building next door.

Our next stop was the Lincoln Presidential Museum and Library where we got to enjoy the interactive exhibits, film showings and presentations on Lincoln. In the main hall are life-size wax figures of President Lincoln and his family as they were about to move to Washington, D.C. Don't miss the "Ghosts of the Library" and "The Union Theater" presentations.

We had a lot of time to go around the museum so I decided to sneak out and explore Springfield. On top of my list of things to see was the Lincoln Home which was five blocks from the museum. The neighborhood around the home of the Lincoln Family was preserved and recreated giving you a feel of how life was during Lincoln's time.

From the home, I walked back to the museum. But I made sure to pass by the Lincoln Law Office which is right beside the Old State Capitol. It was the seat of government from 1839 to 1876 where Lincoln, Stephen A. Douglas and Ulysses S. Grant used to work. Right in front of the museum is the Union Station but it is no longer in use since the railroad tracks have been transferred elsewhere.

Missouri, USA: St. Louis Gateway Arch in Missouri

After two weeks in Illinois, we were finally crossing state borders to neighboring Missouri to visit an iconic landmark of St. Louis, the Gateway Arch at the Jefferson National Expansion Memorial. At 630 feet (192 meters), it is the tallest monument in the U.S.

We had some obstacles getting there since the usual riverfront roads to the arch were flooded as a result of the heavy rains that hit the region during the week. Flooding was all over the news the past week with towns along the Mississippi working to save their homes by building temporary levies with sandbags. Anyway, we finally got there and went around the museum under the arch.

From the base of the monument, you can take a tram to the observation deck at the top of the arch where, on a clear day, you can see as far as 48 kilometers. The tram ride costs US$10 per person. From the top, we could see the old courthouse and the baseball stadium where the St. Louis Cardinals were currently playing. I was toying around with the zoom of my camera and was able to take a shot of the batter on base and the pitcher!

You can also opt to take a riverboat ride for US$12 or a dinner cruise for US$40. But since the Gateway Arch Riverfront was flooded, that was out of the question.

After dinner at Union Station, a heritage structure adaptively-reused as a tourist mall (with restaurants, bars, shops and even a hotel), we drove back to Springfield, Illinois where we were to stay for the night.

Illinois, USA: Cahokia Mounds and prehistoric native American culture

The first thing I did when I found out I was flying to the U.S. was to find the nearest UNESCO World Heritage Site to Chicago. It was a good thing there was one in Illinois, the Cahokia Mounds State Historic Site. It excited me more when I found out that we were visiting it as part of our program itinerary since the only convenient way to get there was by renting a car.

According to UNESCO, Cahokia is the largest pre-Columbian settlement north of Mexico and was occupied primarily during the Mississippian period (800–1400), when it covered nearly 1,600 hectares and included some 120 mounds. The main mound in the complex is called Monks Mound, the largest prehistoric earthwork in the Americas, covering over 5 hectares and standing 30 meters high.

After watching a video at the Interpretative Center, we walked around the park and got to climb up Monks Mound where you can see nearby St. Louis, Illinois. If you don't want to rent a car, public transportation to the place is possible but a bit complicated. Directions are available in the Cahokia website. Take note that the Cahokia Mounds are in Collinsville, Illinois and not in the city of Cahokia.

Illinois, USA: Rev. Jesse Jackson and the Rainbow/PUSH Coalition

As part of our program, we visited several not-for-profit organizations or NPOs in the Chicago area. Among these is the Rainbow/PUSH Coalition, an NPO formed as a merger of two non-profit organizations — Operation PUSH (People United to Save Humanity) and the National Rainbow Coalition — founded by Jesse Jackson. The organizations pursue social justice, civil rights and political activism.

We were lucky to meet the Rev. Jesse Jackson himself, an American civil rights activist and Baptist minister who was closely associated with Dr. Martin Luther King. Before Barack Obama, there were four black candidates for president namely Shirley Chisholm, Senator Carol Moseley Braun, Jesse Jackson, and Al Sharpton. Jackson was a candidate for the Democratic presidential nomination in 1984 and 1988.

Illinois, USA: Philippine Independence Day celebrations in Chicago

We celebrated Philippine Independence Day by attending the reception hosted by Mayor Richard M. Daley and the City of Chicago on June 10. It is indeed an honor for the Philippines that a major American city has given significance to our celebration of freedom. In fact, Mayor Daley proclaimed June 12, 2008 as Philippine Independence Day in the City of Chicago. At the reception, Mayor Daley encouraged all Chicagoans to appreciate the contributions the Filipino-American community has made to Chicago

Earlier in the afternoon, we had made a courtesy call to Consul General Blesila C. Cabrera at the Philippine Consulate General along North Michigan Avenue.

During the reception, I was expecting Philippine cultural performances but there was none of that. Maybe next year, they can include that in the program since the current generation of Filipinos in the U.S. are no longer familiar with our culture having been born and raised there. It would be great if they can bring in cultural groups from the Philippines to perform or even better if young Filipinos in the U.S. can practice and perform our traditional songs and dances themselves.

What I noticed though was that there were so many ladies wearing crowns and sashes on the stage and even right below the stage. I know that traditional Philippine fiestas involve naming a queen and princess. But it's usually one for each. So we asked why there were so many ladies wearing crowns and sashes. The answer was each Filipino association had its own queen!

Then I realized, the Filipino-American community in the U.S. is an agglomeration of ethnic associations reflecting the regionalism that exists here in the Philippines. In general, we were told that Filipinos in the U.S. form associations based primarily on their place of origin in the Philippines rather than forming a single heterogeneous community based on their geographical location in America. We were told it partly explains why we don't have any "Filipinotowns" in the U.S. aside from the fact that we are good at adjusting to any culture to begin with.

Filipino-Americans are in the best position to set an example for our country by going beyond the regions, provinces and towns, transcending cultural barriers and moving as one. Filipinos here and around the globe must unite, strengthen Philippine national (and not just regional) identity and move our nation forward.