“I get homesick talking about Australia,” says Shannon Long, the first Australian Playmate to be featured in the U.S. edition of Playboy. “You should see it: rain forests, rock pools, deserted beaches.” Petite Shannon first burst onto the Playboy scene in the land Down Under, when she became Playboy Australia’s Miss September 1985. When Hugh Hefner laid eyes on the beautiful brunette from Surfers Paradise, she was immediately invited to come to the Mansion. “Staying at the Playboy Mansion, I found Americans very helpful and friendly,” says Shannon, now Playboy’s Miss October 1988. “But, I love Australia. The beaches, the laid-back atmosphere and easygoing people.” As the first Aussie Playmate to grace the centerfold of American Playboy, Miss Long has been enjoying educating Americans about her homeland. “It's such a young country, there's such a freshness, no one is eager to settle down into one job, one house, one life,” explains our voluptuous Playmate of the Month. “You work a few months, you take off for a few months for a little adventure. You have to enjoy the freshness.” Shannon’s favorite food is nowhere near fresh, or even considered edible by North American standards. Vegemite is an Australian breakfast spread, made from leftover brewers’ yeast extract and a minimal amount of vegetables. For North Americans, the taste is considered too salty and bitter, but for Aussies like our all-natural Playmate of the Month, it’s considered to be delicious. “I've had it on toast almost every day of my life,” says green-eyed Shannon with a straight face. “The first time I came to the United States to test for the centerfold, I didn't bring any. Never again.” We would love for Miss October 1988 to take us on a personal tour of her land Down Under, but we’ll kindly pass on her breakfast of choice.