Australia

 Australia, the Land Down Under!  This continent/country is often talked about in terms of its unique wildlife (marsupials, anyone?), harsh terrain (like the Outback), or famous celebrities.  This study gave us a chance to focus more on what everyday life is like there: the cities and peoples, the history and culture.

Video List

• Geography Now! Australia
• Geography More! Argentina, Armenia and Australia - link should take you right to 6:55 where the Australia section starts
• Geography Now! Australia States and Territories - start at 1:18 to skip the sponsor ad
• Geography Now! Christmas Island - a short bonus video about one of the external territories of Australia
• American vs British vs Australian English - the same words (or their equivalents) are said in each of the three English dialects.  Very fun!
• The Animated History of Australia
• Top 25 Amazing Places to Visit in Australia - good but shaky camera work and lots of cuts between scenes, especially at the beginning
• 11 Things NOT to do in Australia - great insight on being a good traveler in Australia
• Aboriginal dance show - a video with didgeridoo music and ceremonial dancing

 We also had fun seeing which musical artists from Australia we recognized.  After checking out this fun list of iconic Australian foods, we ordered an Australian snack box from Amazon that looked to have some of the classic treats from the list.  While the box was small (only about 6" x 9"), it held a decent assortment of snacks.  My main disappointment, though, was that it didn't include any ANZAC biscuits despite them being in the picture.  Instead we go Tiny Teddy biscuits and some Scotch butter biscuits.  Both tasted fine (like Teddy Grahams here in the US and butter cookies), but ANZAC seemed like it would be much more Australian.

The Vegemite was a challenge to get our kids to taste, as its reputation had preceded it, but eventually we all had some.  It is very salty and tastes to me like yeast smells when you are using it to bake bread.  Not horrible, but definitely something you want to pair with something else, as it is not a super-appealing flavor on its own.  Shapes didn't taste like barbecue, but almost like a zingy Chicken-in-a-Biscuit cracker.  Cherry Ripe tasted like a Mounds bar with a hint of cherry.  Violet Crumble is honeycomb (not actual, but the crunchy sugar-spun variety) coated in chocolate, and it was good but with a bit of a burnt aftertaste.  Caramello Koalas were delish with a good amount of caramel inside.  Cheekies ... were questionable in all aspects: the design, name, and flavor.  Normally we like gummies, but the 'chocolate' flavor was not something any of us enjoyed, and the rest of the bag will probably end up in the bin.  Clear winner was Tim Tam!  Really delicious, they went quickly and was a unique treat we would definitely buy again!

We also made some fairy bread, essentially just butter and sprinkles on bread.  I think that we needed a lot more sprinkles to be authentic, but this seemed like plenty for us.  😅