Oz

This morning I had breakfast with a young friend who just returned from a semester studying in Australia. I was a "JYA" (junior year abroad) myself back in the day, so I was eager to hear about her adventures.

She had both good and bad to report. She met a lot of people, experienced a different culture and took some amazing trips, but she had some unfortunate run-ins with the Australian medical system, and the university's academic standards suffered in comparison to her college here in the States.
She missed Longwood Gardens and would watch videos on their website when she got homesick. As far as food goes: it was expensive, real drip coffee was unheard of, and only two varieties of cheese were available, both made by the TastyCheese Co.
Her first Facebook post when she landed at LAX was "America. Home of unlimited wifi, real coffee, and cheap food. Oh it's good to be back." Close on its heels was: "Wait... what? I just got a NORMAL coffee and baked good for under $7... how wonderful!"
One bright spot was the Australian chocolate cookie brand TimTams, which she adored. A few days before she was due to come back home,  the biscuits were on sale for half-price, so she bought 18 bags.
Ironically, that meant she had to pay $50 in overweight luggage charges.
(At a party last night I saw a friend who just that morning had arrived home from a business trip to Australia. I asked him about the coffee situation, and he agreed vigorously. He said their idea of coffee is the instant variety.)