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 towns 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 Consuelos 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