One of the things I was most excited about seeing in Australia was a kangaroo. I had watched Dot and the Kangaroo about a hundred zillion times as a child and was still holding out hope that maybe, just maybe, I would be able to talk to the kangaroos like Dot could. What kid doesn’t wish they could talk to animals?

However, instead of happening upon a herd of them bounding footloose and fancy-free across the Outback, the first kangaroo that I saw in Australia was served to me on a plate.

I had brought this situation upon myself. Much like raccoons in North America, kangaroos are beloved by foreigners and less popular with Australians. My Australian housemates described kangaroos as overgrown rodents that cause car accidents and are a general nuisance, and that kangaroo meat is not fit for dogs. I foolishly asked what it tasted like, at which point they all admitted they had never actually eaten kangaroo. Which led them to deciding that we should all eat some kangaroo to decide for ourselves if it was edible.

So my first encounter with a kangaroo in Australia was like this:

Roast kangaroo on the left

Sorry, Dot and friends.