When I Say Honeycomb, You Think ______

Cereal! Duh, because Honeycomb is a popular, highly advertised and quite tasty cereal that lines the supermarket shelves in the USA. But this evening at work, when my manager inquired if I liked Honeycomb and I asked, "You mean the cereal?", she looked at me as if I had ten, mold-infested heads. She then turned to the other manager laughing and said, "She asked if it was cereal (chuckle, chuckle)." Um hello! That's because it is a cereal. I asked defensively, "You don't have Honeycomb cereal here?" Maricia (the third of my three managers, you've already met Frank and Tim) replied, "No, I don't think so. It's a cookie-candy type of thing" as she dropped a box of "honeycombs" on the desk. "You can have them if you like." Well I tried this Australian honeycomb, and it was just awful. It was hard, crunchy and did taste like honey, but impossible to chew. The instant I bit down on it, the whole thing got cemented to my teeth. Even with the help of my fingers, I couldn't hinge the honeycomb off my molars. Who on earth would want to eat that? And of course, Frank was in the office and wouldn't let me leave to go back into the restaurant until I had finished chewing. But like I said, that was a nearly impossible task and so I awkwardly stood in the office for what felt like an eternity trying with all my might to get this chunk of honeycomb chewed and swallowed.  Frank must think I'm a little off. I can just imagine the raised eyebrows he gave me as I stood there stationary, still chomping like a cow minutes after he had given his orders. I have a newfound appreciation for our Honeycomb. While certainly not the most nutritious breakfast option (cerealfacts.org) (yes, that is a plug for Rudd Center work!), I will take a bowl of honeycombs cereal drenched with milk over this horrid "stuff" any day.

I was in such disbelief that my managers had never heard of Honeycomb cereal, that I went and asked my fellow employees if they knew what it was. Their answer was "no." I then recalled someone telling me that they didn't have Graham crackers here in Australia, an essential ingredient for making s'mores. So I asked them, "Do you know what s'mores are?" They shook their heads no. "You don't?" I replied shocked. "Do you have Graham crackers here?" Again they shook their heads no. I couldn't believe it. I tried to explain to them the exhilarating wonderfulness derived from biting into a gooey, warm marshmallow that has melted the Hershey's chocolate sandwiched between two crisp Graham crackers. But no description, no matter how vivid, does the actual experience justice. These people don't know what they are missing, and I am at a loss to show them due to the nonexistence of Graham crackers in Australia. Come to think of it, I'm not sure that I've seen any Hershey's chocolate here either. But that can easily be replaced with Cadbury chocolate. I fear it may be much harder to find an adequate substitute for Graham crackers. But I shall try!

Onto other work related news, tonight I experienced my first thunderstorm in Sydney (a natural reaction to Mr. Thunder From Down Under being in town, I'm sure). I have never witnessed the wrath and awe of thunder and lighting 165 meters up in the air before. It was a little bit cool, and a lot bit eerie. I wish I had a way to capture it and share it with you all. Instead, I will urge you all to make some s'mores and think of me. Chow.