Excerpted from her thesis Heroes or Hellions: How Americans are Perceived Abroad, this chapter by Erin Granat examines the dynamics of a "miniature United Nations" that forms when a random group of people travels together in Australia.

"Absolutely anything is possible. Two massive semi-trucks twisted up in the air as art? Okay. A “Barbie Death Camp” where you can desecrate and bury those little blond bitches? Sure?” Burning Man first-timer, Erin Granat, tells us what she learned at Black Rock City this year.