anhydrous is my middle name... (titration anyone?)

i am such a chem nerd. today with 2 other classmates from my accelerated chem class, we caught the train from wahroonga to redfern, then walked to Sydney uni for a chem lecture. i have to say, it was my first time to catch a train so far, and my first time to go to "uni" and with that i simply must add that i can't wait to finish high school- uni is amazing!

let me start from the beginning... 3 abbotsleigh yr 11 girls exitted Redfern Station, after a 45 min train ride from Wahroonga...we were hoping that there would be signs to direct us to where Sydney uni was. unfortunately, as we stepped outside, we were confronted with a conundrum: there were NO SIGNS! so, there we were, standing at the entrance looking confused and lost. luckily, a lady who was passing by saw our predicament and asked if she could help! thankfully we got directions from her where to go. she was so nice!! i wonder if she was christian....lending her help to random strangers....

anyway, finally we arrived...feeling very conspicuous and extremely juvenile...everyone else for miles around was in casual clothes- and there we were; in school uniform! anyhow, we wandered around the campus for quite a while, because we had no sense of direction and because we couldn't figure out how to read the map. still, at least it gave me the time to admire how absolutely BIG the campus was....and it was also interesting to note some really cool hi-tech looking buildings, and compare them with the old gothic cathedral-like structures scattered around the grounds.

we somehow worked out that we had to cross the overpass in order to reach the chemistry building....and there was another surprise! the building that we entered which led to the overpass made me cry out in astonishment...if i hadn't known i was on a university campus, i would've sworn i had walked into a shopping centre. we passed a Donut King, and coffee shops, and newsagents and it made our canteen at school look like a 'dai pai dong' in comparison.

anyway, moving on...the chemistry lecture hall itself was interesting, as it had a fume cupboard built into the actual wall! this was fun as the lecturer poured bromine onto aluminium to make aluminium bromide- as u know, this is a toxic gas, but what impressed me was the eerie purple glow and the way the aluminium burst into flames... u see nothing like that in high school!

after the lecture was finished (5-6:30pm) we had to make our way back to Redfern station. We caught the bus which was a wise idea as we didn't think it was very safe to walk through the streets of Redfern on the shortest day of the year! it was a little scary when we walked past Everleigh St and saw a bunch of ppl gathered around a fire- just like what u see in movies, except this was real and less than 200m away.

i arrived home, tired and hungry at 8:10pm. it's hard to believe it took me more than an hour and a half to travel back home...i arrived at school this morning at 7:45am which means i've had a 12 and a half hour day!! not to mention a 3 hour maths competition this morning...i think i will go to bed early tonight....i'm exhausted.

oh no! extension maths tomorrow morning at 7:30am! -_-"