Bogo Museum, Public Library and Park
Just across the heritage square is the big plaza/par with a lot of greeneries wherein located a building officially labeled as the city’s “Museum and Public Library”. It’s a wonderful place, I wonder why not every locality in this country erect something like it. It is just a simple structure. Facing it, right wing is the museum and left wing is the library – within the library is a fairly-new looking “Community e-Center”. I went in of course.
I was at the semi-circular front desk (reception) for nearly 5 minutes and all that was in front of me were the “house rules” and a number of bags apparently deposited by the library patrons.
I already busied myself ogling at the exquisite murals and painting in that lobby but not a single human would care to entertain me. Some students passed by me going to somewhere that looked 
like a comfort room, but when they returned going back to the library, as if they did not see me. I saw that there were many people inside the library (to my left). There I was again, thinking if I should start hollering “maayooooo”! My wits still alive, I faced and focused my attention behind the glass doors at the older folks reading inside the library. I did not do anything; I just faced them trying to look like I was a foreigner lost in a building hehe! No sooner one of them bespectacled women (probably teachers) motioned at someone I could not see pointing her lips at me in the lobby. Voila! An employee quickly appeared in front of me and entered the semi-circular reception desk.
My first sentence: “where do I pay the ten pesos?” – as I have almost memorized the “house rules”! She said to her. So I did since that is “house rule number 1” (P10 adult, P5 children below 12, P5 students with ID). And she asked me to enter the museum. I asked if there was a guide who would accompany me. She said none. I was about to protest on whatever happened to “house rule number 8” but did not say anything since obviously there was no one to assist me. I asked “no photos?”. Surprisingly her reply was “pasimple ka lang sir”! Gosh! But let me tell you, I did not take any photo, did not even take my camera out of my pocket. Why? Because I was aware, a little girl about 9 or 10 years old was already watching me when I took pictures of the murals earlier at that lobby. She was at the entrance and purportedly looking out to the gardens when I would glance at her. But I knew she was curious and was listening when I talked to this museum employee. She will have heard the “pasimple ka lang sir” so I dared not take photos. I saw from the corner of my eye, she was watching me through the glass door as I roamed the museum which is no bigger than my sala anyway hehe! Cannot be a bad example to the children of this country. So I did not take any pics. Argh!
Hey, this museum girl did not even have the courtesy to open the lights or the air-conditioner. She was too much in a hurry to get back to the library. Is she also the librarian? So when I was inside the museum, I flicked all the switches! Bakit ba?! Hehe!
The historical and political things in this museum are so-so. How many museums have World War II bombshells anyway? Doesn’t all of them?! You can learn all about those on the web. BUT, the cultural and natural things were an eye-opener. I specially marveled at that shell of a giant clam (Taklobo?) where the descriptions said it was thought to be between a thousand and 3 thousand years old. Oh my… and the size of that clam, well, could easily fit a baby inside!
Out of the museum after switching the lights to “off”, I crossed to enter a public library. How I wish to see all towns in this country with such a good air-conditioned library with a lot of patrons busy reading or researching. I tried making a cursory at what the high school and elementary school kids were reading. Well, I was not disappointed. They were not reading comic books but serious stuff. Of course, the adults won’t be there if they wanted to play, so I needed not check out what they were into! I saw a nursing student and as said earlier those bespectacled women were probably teachers!
Now the “Community e-Center” is a separate glass enclosure inside the library. You pay to use any of the computers. There are probably 10 PCs or therearounds. My phone’s notepad says I wrote “same as outside” for the rental rate. Therefore, it would be from P10 to P20. Sadly, of the many kids and adults busy on those PCs, all were playing games except for one (the museum girl?) who was busy with facebook! Argh!
If it’s any consolation, I saw two little girls who probably were not even in the 1st grade yet. They too were playing a game. But that game was matching colors and shapes. Ahhhh… it pinched my heart a bit.
Oh well, I went out into the big park where many children played. The most interesting part there is the actual (but of course non-operational) head of a choo-choo! Yes folks, if you are not yet aware, there were trains in this place long ago care of the sugar plantations and mills in the area. But that was a long long time ago.
Nice enough roam!
I was at the semi-circular front desk (reception) for nearly 5 minutes and all that was in front of me were the “house rules” and a number of bags apparently deposited by the library patrons.
I already busied myself ogling at the exquisite murals and painting in that lobby but not a single human would care to entertain me. Some students passed by me going to somewhere that looked 
like a comfort room, but when they returned going back to the library, as if they did not see me. I saw that there were many people inside the library (to my left). There I was again, thinking if I should start hollering “maayooooo”! My wits still alive, I faced and focused my attention behind the glass doors at the older folks reading inside the library. I did not do anything; I just faced them trying to look like I was a foreigner lost in a building hehe! No sooner one of them bespectacled women (probably teachers) motioned at someone I could not see pointing her lips at me in the lobby. Voila! An employee quickly appeared in front of me and entered the semi-circular reception desk.My first sentence: “where do I pay the ten pesos?” – as I have almost memorized the “house rules”! She said to her. So I did since that is “house rule number 1” (P10 adult, P5 children below 12, P5 students with ID). And she asked me to enter the museum. I asked if there was a guide who would accompany me. She said none. I was about to protest on whatever happened to “house rule number 8” but did not say anything since obviously there was no one to assist me. I asked “no photos?”. Surprisingly her reply was “pasimple ka lang sir”! Gosh! But let me tell you, I did not take any photo, did not even take my camera out of my pocket. Why? Because I was aware, a little girl about 9 or 10 years old was already watching me when I took pictures of the murals earlier at that lobby. She was at the entrance and purportedly looking out to the gardens when I would glance at her. But I knew she was curious and was listening when I talked to this museum employee. She will have heard the “pasimple ka lang sir” so I dared not take photos. I saw from the corner of my eye, she was watching me through the glass door as I roamed the museum which is no bigger than my sala anyway hehe! Cannot be a bad example to the children of this country. So I did not take any pics. Argh!
Hey, this museum girl did not even have the courtesy to open the lights or the air-conditioner. She was too much in a hurry to get back to the library. Is she also the librarian? So when I was inside the museum, I flicked all the switches! Bakit ba?! Hehe!
The historical and political things in this museum are so-so. How many museums have World War II bombshells anyway? Doesn’t all of them?! You can learn all about those on the web. BUT, the cultural and natural things were an eye-opener. I specially marveled at that shell of a giant clam (Taklobo?) where the descriptions said it was thought to be between a thousand and 3 thousand years old. Oh my… and the size of that clam, well, could easily fit a baby inside!
Out of the museum after switching the lights to “off”, I crossed to enter a public library. How I wish to see all towns in this country with such a good air-conditioned library with a lot of patrons busy reading or researching. I tried making a cursory at what the high school and elementary school kids were reading. Well, I was not disappointed. They were not reading comic books but serious stuff. Of course, the adults won’t be there if they wanted to play, so I needed not check out what they were into! I saw a nursing student and as said earlier those bespectacled women were probably teachers!
Now the “Community e-Center” is a separate glass enclosure inside the library. You pay to use any of the computers. There are probably 10 PCs or therearounds. My phone’s notepad says I wrote “same as outside” for the rental rate. Therefore, it would be from P10 to P20. Sadly, of the many kids and adults busy on those PCs, all were playing games except for one (the museum girl?) who was busy with facebook! Argh!
If it’s any consolation, I saw two little girls who probably were not even in the 1st grade yet. They too were playing a game. But that game was matching colors and shapes. Ahhhh… it pinched my heart a bit.
Oh well, I went out into the big park where many children played. The most interesting part there is the actual (but of course non-operational) head of a choo-choo! Yes folks, if you are not yet aware, there were trains in this place long ago care of the sugar plantations and mills in the area. But that was a long long time ago.
Nice enough roam!
I'm quite curious about the library in Bogo. From a scale of 1 to 10, how friendly and courteous are the staff in the Bogo public library?
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