USyd Campus and Vegemite!

Third day in Sydney was good. I went to by more groceries and also just looked around the shops. There are lots of cool new trends and clothing… like skinny jeans, leggings, flats, big belts and polka dots and stripes. It’s very much like North America, but there is a bit of a difference, just can’t quite pin point it. People here are very trendy and it seems every young person is in fashion. And so far, the prices are quite reasonable and comparable to that in Canada. I feel like I need to go shopping to fit in… (or at least to get warmer clothes!)

I also wandered around campus. It’s very pretty and quite secluded from outside traffic. I went to visit the Chem Eng building and much like the one in Toronto, it’s old, dingy and not very elegant… of course not like the architecture of the Great Hall or School of Physics… but it’ll be my home for the next few months.

The Quadrangle - which also has a "Great Hall." It reminded me of University College

The Chem Eng building has a pretty little courtyard at it's centre. This was themost impressive quality of the building.

This was the oddest thing I've seen. It's call "Graffiti Tunnel" and it's an acutal Univeristy location - it's even on the campus map. It's the only place on campus where graffiti is allowed and it's a long tunnel that is covered with it.

I've noticed that even everyday, pigeon-like birds are different in Australia... here is an example. Very pretty, yeah?

While at the supermarket (called Bi-Lo), I picked up the smallest jar of Vegemite to try it out. For those who don’t know, Vegemite is a Kraft product that is only available in Australia (I believe). When I was on a tour of Europe last year with some Aussies, they carried around tubes of this stuff. It is a concentrated yeast spread and its popularity soared during the war. It’s an excellent source of vitamin B and it’s a staple of the Aussie culture.

So, when I got home, after my lunch, I toasted a piece of bread and spread some butter on it. (I’ve heard that how you’re supposed to take it, NOT a huge spoonful, contrary to popular belief). I opened the jar and observed… the smell, colour and consistency were not all that pleasant. I then layered the thinnest layer possible of Vegemite in the corner of my toast and took a bite. Ummm… well… considering I worked for Kraft, I’ll try to be politically correct. Let’s just say, it’s probably an acquired taste... one that takes a long time to acquire. It was rather salty and frankly, I’m not sure how I can explain its taste. I’ll have to give it another go, perhaps in the presence of an experienced Vegemite-eater… maybe I did something wrong.

One last note: I’ll have to give credit where credit is due and if you are reading this you have noticed my beautiful banner at the top. That is all thanks to David and his crazy awesome Adobe Illustrator skills. He created it for me and even posted it (since I couldn’t even try to figure out the code behind this blog). So, thank you to David for making my blog pretty and different from the generic template. He’s very artistic and talented (another reason why I *heart* him)

(The days are already passing by so quickly… )