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.  😅

Armenia

 This section of the world doesn't often get a lot of attention in school or in the news here in the United States.  So it was really neat to be able to learn some really cool facts about Armenia!  For example, did you know its capital Yerevan is one of the oldest cities in the world, even older than Rome?  They also have their own alphabet consisting of 36 letters.  It's a beautiful place we would love to visit!

Video List

• Geography Now!  Armenia
• Geography More!  Armenia - link should take you straight to 3:34 where the Armenian section starts
• 10 Best Places to visit in Armenia - good video, but the voice is a little too soothing and slow 😅
• Best Places to Visit in Armenia - more informal travel vlog that my kids enjoyed
• Armenia - Things You Will Immediately Notice (Geography Go!) - Paul got to attend a travel festival in Armenia and vlogged about it

Here in Texas, they hold an Armenia Fest in October at the St. Sarkis Armenia Church in Carrollton.  It wasn't the right time of year for us to participate, but we did have fun reading through their trivia page.  And while we weren't able to find any Armenian restaurants near us, I was able to use this list of must-try Armenian foods to help me pick out some Armenian gata on Amazon to order.

The gata came much faster than expected, and it looked and tasted fresh and super yummy.  It is like a nice cream cheese danish, but less sweet.  We heated it up a bit in the microwave to freshen it up a bit, and it was absolutely delicious!

Argentina

Our timing to study Argentina was fantastic, as we just spent almost an entire month watching the 2022 Men's World Cup where Argentina (and Messi!) emerged victorious!

Video List

• Geography Now!  Argentina
• Provinces of Argentina Explained (Geography Now!) - a little long, but interesting
• 10 Best Places to Visit in Argentina - we liked this one but watched it at 1.25 speed because it is a little slow
• The Animated History of Argentina - a bit long, but very informative
• Why is Argentina's Currency so Crazy? - pretty interesting information and discussion on the inflation in Argentina and the impact is has on everyday life / good for discussion on economics with the kids
• Argentina 101 - 31 Tips You Need to Know - great practical travel tips for going to Buenos Aires that offer some good insight to the culture

For our food experience, I found a place that makes Argentinian empanadas called Fat Tummy Empanadas, so we went to check it out.  It was delicious!  We started off with a single empanada each, but they were so delicious that most of us went back for a second.  Our favorites were the traditional beef (ground beef with chopped up kalamata olives), the rajas con queso (poblano peppers with cheese and corn), and the Argentinian-style chorizo with eggs.  We also had the beef and potatoes and spicy chicken, which were also good.  At the end we brought home some of the sweet empanadas to bake and have as dessert.  We tried the dulce de leche (like a caramel filling), guava and cream cheese, apple, and pineapple.  Surprisingly, we liked the savory empanadas much more than the sweet ones, and later we found out that in Argentina, they don't really serve sweet ones anyway.

L to R: apple, dulce de leche, and guava & cream cheese