'WE should get past the insecurity that we Filipinos are insignificant and that we did not affect the world,' Prof. Van Ybiernas, a fellow Manila Times columnist, reminded our students during our educational trip to selected museums of the National Historical Commission of the Philippines in Cavite, San Juan and Quezon City on July 16, 2023. (Yes, their museums are open on Sundays!) This was the very first time we went on tour again since the pandemic. Before that, Van and I frequently toured our students jointly, and we gave some short lectures so they did not just senselessly wander around the places. We give context, not just mere trivia, to the spaces we visit. Van has begun writing about some of the discussions we had in his columns.

That day, we not only had students for the subject Readings in Philippine History, but it was also the first time that I was teaching Contemporary World, a subject that tackles globalization. So, we did not just talk about the history of the Philippines as it is connected to the place, but we basically told it from the angle of a globalized world.