VEGEMITE

I have met the Aussies. And I like them. A lot.

Take your stereotypical English chap. Remove his necktie. Exchange his pink, spread collar dress shirt with an unpressed denim button down. Muss his hair a bit. Fill his tea cup with soda and his sandwich plate with a thick ribeye. Trade him an unkept dog of dubious breed for his Scottish terrier. Rip the white ear buds from his head and hand him a harmonica.

He is now an Australian.

The students who are hosting me made me taste Vegemite last night. (It was really awful...like drinking a cup of wheat paste and chasing it with a shot of vinegar.) But I totally loved them for it. They are infinitely kind, bright, and ambitious for just the right things.

How great to travel all the way around the world and discover two dozen or so new best friends.