Dim Syniad

Dim Syniad :$

We woke up to the local time today :). Having rested we headed down to breakfast where again we stocked up with multiple sittings.Nice and full we went back up to the room to prepare for the day. 

We decided to hunt for some postcards and then the postoffice to send them.We avoided masses of crazy traffic on the way. People seem to ignore lights here, both pedestrians and drivers, they just cross or go where there's a gap. It was really sunny, definitely a day for shorts and sunglasses.  There were even individuals selling ice creams to traffic that had stopped.

We had no idea where we were going and so spent a full hour trying to find the postoffice, that turned out to be not far from our hotel. Having sent our postcards we bypassed the presidential offices, which was both beautiful and interesting. The building, pink and pretty was surrounded by trees, statues and fountains. Although it was a sight of beauty not far from it was protest signs and banners covering some statues and grounds.

We rested our tired legs at the hotel for half an hour where yet again I fell asleep before heading to meet our Argentinian friend at cafe tortoni.We were greeted and hushed off to catch the combi bus. Which reminds me that I'm yet to mention the bizzare way of sayinghello here. They tilt their heads to the side and give a single kiss on the cheek. They do this to say both hello and goodbye. My grandad would be most shocked if he knew I had to kiss most people we meet on the cheek. He always had to chase me for hours for a kiss.

Anyway... We got on the combi bus and headed an hour away to our friends University. Still no idea what it is everyone was saying apart from hola, adios, gracias and bueno. I'm picking up on some words but I'm still clueless as to what anyone is saying.

We arrived at our destination, an appearance of which was most different to what we had seen in the city. The buildings were a lot more torn down and old. Like the films yousee shot in old America. Although much like the city centre, there were many political banners hung and printed and sprayed.

We arrived at Universidad Nactional de Lonas de Zamora where to our surprise we were told we were to meet the pro vice chancellor. Feeling underdressed we headed for the building. Inside the building student party banners were hung everywhere. It seemed very direct to one party of which we were told have been in power for a number of years. They had won the last election with 58% of the vote.

We were taken to a room where we met the pro vice chancellor and two politically elected students. I'd like to tell you what we spoke about but in all honesty I've no idea. The entire conversation was in Spanish so I had to concentrate very hard to pick up bits. We were given a brochure on the University before the students agreed to do an interview.

Again I felt like a muppett, having sat through an hours Spanish interview not having a clue what was being said. Lucky for Sara really, having her bilingual skills gives us better opportunities for our research.I took pride in handing over some USW and Welsh pin badges to the students, who were greatful for the gifts. Having wrapped up the techy instruments, they brought us some university pins and gave us a tour of their building. We said our goodbyes and headed for the combi bus home.

I sat through yet again some Spanish conversation before we reached the centre of Buenos aires and we walked back to the hotel.Having spent the majority of the day feeling like I was doing a sponsored silence, it was a relief to speak with Sara in English. Which is absolutely wonderful but my do I miss speaking Welsh! Having eaten our left over pizza we clocked off for the day.

Nos da Argentina

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