Impressions By Averil B. Pooten Watan

9th Igorot Cordillera BIMAAK Europe (ICBE) Consultation
Rome, Italy
April 28 – May 1, 2017  

Impressions

By Averil B. Pooten Watan

We had such a wonderful trip.

We wanted to thank our hosts - in particular Mng Rosmar and Aunty Grace. From the start, when they took us to our apartment, they really helped us find our feet. We felt their warmth and hospitality throughout.

Secondly, we wanted to congratulate Cordi Rome and the other Italian Igorot groups for hosting a successful ICBE. Those of us that have had the opportunity to be part of arranging conferences, know how challenging (but also rewarding) it can be. In the end, we all enjoyed our time very much and made lasting memories so THANK YOU!!

It was great to reconnect with familiar faces, but also to meet many new friends.

The highlight for us, was watching our little girl join in with the Igorot dances.

The presentations by Uncle Cesar and uncle Gil were also very informative; also the discussion regarding the proposed resolutions.

We also enjoyed the group discussion. I think some fruitful thoughts were shared.

On the open "sightseeing" day, we took a leisurely walk to Termini. It was helpful that we could take our time because we have the little ones! From termini we purchased 2 adult fares for the Hop On, Hop off. It was pricey compared to the 24 hr bus ticket, but because it was our first time in Rome we wanted to hit all the sights in one go! The Hop on Hop off was great - we had our ear phones to plug into the bus’ guide. We stopped off at the colosseum and trevi fountain. We enjoyed gelato, pizza and pasta and continued through the early evening riding the bus one more time around the city so we could really enjoy Rome. In the words of Penny, it was "fantastico".

Lots of love, Wendy, Mark, Penny and Eleanor xxx