[youtube]_3_HpiZL90Q[/youtube] Gillard and Obama go back to school What is Vegemite? A good question, and one that Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard answered for U.S. students today.
As part of her visit to the United States, President Obama took Gillard to a high school in Virginia today. Gillard was once a teacher herself, as well as a former education minister in Australia.
Gillard amused the school children with a “pop quiz” on Australia.
One student asked, “My family and I have been wondering for a little while: what is Vegemite?”
Gillard and Obama joked about the question with the prime minister saying “I love vegemite,” while the president replied, “It’s horrible.”
“It’s actually a byproduct of making beer, apparently,“ Gillard explained. ”It’s a yeast paste. I’m making this sound really good, aren’t I? It’s black and it’s quite salty.”
“The beginner’s error with Vegemite is to put too much on a piece of bread or a piece of toast,“ she added. ”You don’t put it all like jam or anything like that. You’ve got to do it very lightly, spread it very thinly. And, it’s good!”
President Obama offered his interpretation of Vegemite.
“So, it’s like a quasi-vegetable-byproduct paste that you smear on your toast for breakfast. Sounds good, doesn’t it?” he said, laughing.
Obama also joked about the Australian football Gillard had presented him with yesterday when they met at the Oval Office.
“She was kicking it in my office. Almost broke a bust of [Abraham] Lincoln,” he said, adding that he was joking and did not wish “to cause a diplomatic incident.”
As part of her visit to the United States, President Obama took Gillard to a high school in Virginia today. Gillard was once a teacher herself, as well as a former education minister in Australia.
Gillard amused the school children with a “pop quiz” on Australia.
One student asked, “My family and I have been wondering for a little while: what is Vegemite?”
Gillard and Obama joked about the question with the prime minister saying “I love vegemite,” while the president replied, “It’s horrible.”
“It’s actually a byproduct of making beer, apparently,“ Gillard explained. ”It’s a yeast paste. I’m making this sound really good, aren’t I? It’s black and it’s quite salty.”
“The beginner’s error with Vegemite is to put too much on a piece of bread or a piece of toast,“ she added. ”You don’t put it all like jam or anything like that. You’ve got to do it very lightly, spread it very thinly. And, it’s good!”
President Obama offered his interpretation of Vegemite.
“So, it’s like a quasi-vegetable-byproduct paste that you smear on your toast for breakfast. Sounds good, doesn’t it?” he said, laughing.
Obama also joked about the Australian football Gillard had presented him with yesterday when they met at the Oval Office.
“She was kicking it in my office. Almost broke a bust of [Abraham] Lincoln,” he said, adding that he was joking and did not wish “to cause a diplomatic incident.”
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