Fiji+by+Bea

When was the last time that you had a root for lunch?

Taro root and cassava are two staple foods in Fiji. Taro root is a tuber vegetable comparable to a potato also like a coconut with hairy covering. You should always wear gloves when peeling a taro root considering some people develop an irritation from some of the juices that can get on you're hands while peeling them. Taro roots are liked greatly in stews, soups, and fried or baked along side a meat dish. Sometimes people substitute them for a potato. Cassava is a woody shrub, needing eight months at least of warm weather to create a crop. It can not take freezing temperatures. Cassava can tolerate rain but not flooding. The dried roots of cassava can be milled into flour and or made into bread for people who are allergic to wheat flour. Both of these types of roots are commonly used for an enjoyable meal in Fiji.

[|Click here for a recipe of Fijian cassava meatballs] [|Click here for a recipe of taro chips]







=
 Information about Fiji  ======

Capital: Suva

Relative location: east of Australia and north of new Zealand

Population: 918,700 thats about as many people as two Wyoming's

Land Area: 7054 square miles which is just a little smaller than New Jersey

Major Languages: English, Fijian, and Hindu

Currency: Fijian dollar

[|Click here for some information about Fiji's culture]

Fun Facts
  In Fiji there is an isalnd called Tavueni and with a market and you can stand there with one foot in the current day and one in the day before.

Rugby and soccer are two of the most competitive sports in Fiji.

"Bula" means hello, welcome, cheers and anything else like tht in Fijan.

While visiting a Fijian village only the chef is aloud to wear sunglasses and a hat.

Interesting Facts
  There are drums in Fiji called the lai drums and they are used to communicate events such as births, or deaths

There are 322 islands in Fiji but only 100 of them have people living there.

Fijian honey cake is one of the most popular desserts in Fiji. It represents wishes of sweet things to come.

Type of Government in Fiji
 In Fiji they have a Westminster system (that is a democratic parliamentary system modeled after the British government). There is a president who is elected by the Great Council of Chiefs. They serve for five years although the do not have very much power. The prime Minister, who is appointed buy the president, is the one who makes many of the decisions about the country. There are 71 people elected for the house of representative along with 34 people appointed for the senate by mostly the president but also with some help from the Great Council of Chiefs. In the constitution, Fiji's political parties, which are different according to different ethnic groups, were said to cooperate instead of competing for complete power.



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