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Hi all,

I have two international students I'm currently mentoring who will be leaving back to their home countries in the next few weeks. Upon arriving, each of the student's gave me a gift which was fairly representative of their home country; vegemite from the Australian, and a chinese good luck Charm (from the Chinese student, of course).

Since they're leaving, I'd like to give them a gift which represents America as well as the gifts they gave me represent their country. I'm sort of blanking on this. I've seen plenty of American Flag T-shirts, lapel pins and such, but is there anything you can think of that is 'uniquely American' which I could give my new international friends?

Thanks!

Here are some ideas.

http://dev.sostreassoc.com/clients/sher ... php?id=104" target="_blank" target="_blank

Or if they are tuba students...................blokepieces?

Sotto Voce cd's. May not be available in their country. That's a truly American group.
Modern Jazz Tuba Project Cd's ... read pevious line .....
DVD of the "Honey Mooners" ( Jackie Gleason, Art Carnie ) . Great American humor.
Virginia Ham. Nobody salt cures a ham like we do. ( Ok, I know they can't get it through customs. I'm just brainstorming here)
Cowboy hat ,Nascar logoed anything,NFL football, MLB baseball, a really good recipe for Pound Cake ( Only a real southeren cook can make it right)
Here's a good one, anything from the Cappazolo Brothers Slate Compay gift shop - http://www.capozzoloslate.com/cart/" target="_blank . American slate from Pennsylvania made into coasters,signs,ornaments,bookends ..etc .

Get 'em some ugly *** American flag t-shirts. Not only is it an American flag, but it's also something "uniquely American," in that all other countries have enough sense to not make clothes like this.

Seriously though, American flag pins are always winners, and pins are great mementos. I doubt they'd be able to easily buy them in China or Australia. Perhaps you could get something a little nicer quality than the normal el-cheapo ones? (Maybe even one made in the USA?)

The cowboy hat idea is nice, though maybe impractical (and of course technically not unique to the US as they're worn elsewhere in North America.) You'd have to measure hat sizes, you can't just ask them. A US made straw could be had for under $50, and they come in styles that are more likely to suit a young person.

A handgun would fit the bill, but also unfortunately awkward at the airport.

Well, that's good for 1/4 of the flag. And based on that picture, I can tell you exactly which 1/4 needs to remain exactly where it is (and it ain't the umbrella!)

One of the final original Twinkies?
An anonymous campaign donation?
Diabetes?

America is a big place - how about something unique to your location. For San Francisco (where I am) - a loaf of sourdough and a cable car trinket (probably made in China) would do the trick. Alternatively, a piece of carved Redwood would last forever and be actually nice....

Wherever you're located, there are presumably other identifiably local things.

Currency proof sets are neat. I think that's what they're called. It's a sample of coins from the same year in a case for display. Everyone knows the US is all about the bottom line!

bloke wrote:fortune cookies

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Maybe one of the "American Heritage" sound tubas!

A bit easier to transport would be a silver dollar key ring though a real SILVER dollar coin would probably cost about as much.

Forget ANY food for Australia, especially a Twinkie as the airline would almost certainly sqeeze the creamy stuff out and jam the works causing a mid-ocean crash.

Thanks for the input, everyone. A lot of great ideas.

I really like the coin set idea. I think I will pick two up. I'm a student, too, so it couldn't have been too expensive. But I found some pretty inexpensive ones on Amazon!

Thanks!

A hot wheels pickup truck.

A bottle of Jack Daniels.