I have just come back from Australia and I'm covered with blood. But before I tell you about that, you're probably wondering why I chose Australia to spend the holidays. Well, Australia has a lot to offer. Inhabited by 11 of the most poisonous animals in the world, why wouldn't someone want to visit Australia?

But among the blue-ringed octopus, various venomous snakes, toxin squirting cane toads and life-threatening insects, the thing I learned to fear the most was the beet root. A beet root is one of those animallike vegetables with a tail, like turnips or radishes. The vegetable is the color beet red, a distinct color hovering somewhere between red and purple, like the color of red wine. However, the Australians would never put red wine and beet juice in the same hue. When I noticed the first stain on my shirt, I thought it was red wine. "Oh no," an Australian corrected me, "that's beet root juice. I can tell." An intimate understanding of the revered beet root was obvious.

Australians like beet root not because it seeks revenge by spraying juice all over you while you're eating it, but because of its unique taste. The sweet earthy flavor of the beet makes one think it has just been pulled from the garden moments ago. Screaming.