In 1989 we visited Australia, where we taught American Literature at the University of Newcastle on a Fulbright Grant. We read Australian literature, and were very much impressed by Australian writers and the picture they gave of their country. We traveled within the country from the coast to the Outback, saw koalas and kangaroos and wombats in the wlld, fossicked for gold, and flew to China, where we also lectured and visited the Summer Palace and the Great Wall during a time of great stress within that country. A later return to Australia showed a country much changed from the one we had first seen, but still a wonderful place.