Why Fiji?
You should really ask: Why NOT Fiji?
This Pacific Island country provides a wonderful and exciting
mix of cultural experiences in a very safe but thrilling
place so remote as to require more than a day to travel,
yet within easy reach to more metropolitan locations in New
Zealand or Australia. In addition, the knowledge and contacts
that enable Mara Fulmer to organize this trip, also play
an important role in creating a truely meaningful experience.
Fiji provides a wonderful blend of the exotic and cosmopolitan.
This island nation serves as the economic and diplomatic
center of the Pacific basin. Shipping and commerce go through
Fiji on their way to other ports of call. Foreign embassies
serving Fiji and other island countries are based in Fiji's
capital of Suva. Many international NGOs use Fiji as their
central location as they implement programs aimed at assisting
the development of many "small island developing states."
All the while, many of Fiji's citizens still embrace the
lifestyle of the communal village which continues to sustain
Fiji's indigenous cultural wealth. The diverse population
also includes a large Asian Indian population as well as
smaller goups of Chinese, other Pacific Islanders, and folks
who look to New Zealand, Australia, and Britain, as their
native land. This dynamic mix provides visitors with a culturally
energetic experience.
The trip is long but the journey to new understanding is
even more dramatic. Students not only are transported via
airplane through the looking glass to a world so different
from their own. They are transformed by their experiences
in a way that only continues to enrich their lives well into
the future.
~ MJF
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