It’s funny the things you assume are universal.  One of the great things about this trip is meeting people from all over the world and getting their perspective on things.

At breakfast this morning (my breakfast – might have been other people’s dinner or lunch!) there were several of us sitting together – a couple of the scientists from New Zealand, one from England, one from Japan, and three of us from the US.  Kathy, one of the US scientists decided to have a peanut butter apple for breakfast.  I decided that sounded good and followed suit. 

Everyone else was amazed that we put peanut butter on apples.  In fact, they were so stunned, I ended up putting mine on my toast instead!  It led to a really great discussion of regional food.  They’d never heard of peanut butter on a banana either – just on toast or bread.  Even though they said they liked apples and peanut butter, we couldn’t convince anyone to try it.  It was very enlightening.  Obviously, I wouldn’t expect someone from overseas to be familiar with…say…enchiladas or philly cheese steaks, but I thought peanut butter apples surely must be enjoyed by kids at snacktime all over the world.