Around the World in the Hetzel Kitchen

Fishing in Timor-Leste.  Picture courtesy of United Nations Photo on Flickr. Conventional Name : Timor-Leste Location : Southeastern Asia; eastern end of the Indonesian archipelago History : The Island of Timor was colonized by the Portuguese in the 16th century.  After being occupied by Japan for a while, they declared independence from Portugal in 1975.  Nine days later, they were invaded and occupied by Indonesia.  After various bouts of pacification attempts and violence, Timor-Leste was internationally recognized as an independent state in 2002. Area : Almost 15000 sq km; 160th largest in the world          Slightly smaller than Connecticut Adjective : Timorese Official Languages : Tetum and Portuguese Religion : 98% Roman Catholic Population : About 1.2 million; 159th largest in the world Capital : Dili Children Under the Age of 5 Underweight : 40.6%; 4th highest in the world GDP Spent on Education : 16.8%; Highest in ...

Note: I cooked and wrote this quite a while ago, but just got it edited.  I decided to keep it as it was at the time.  There will be life updates next time.  Don't worry, I have cooked since this one. Background : Explored and claimed by Christopher Columbus in 1492.  Part of the greater island of Hispaniola, the western third was recognized by the Spanish as being French controlled in 1697 and became Haiti. Location : Caribbean Area : Almost 50000 sq km; 132rd largest in the world          Slightly more than twice the size of New Hampshire Religion : 95% Roman Catholic Population : Over 10 million; 85th largest in the world Capital : Santo Domingo Suffrage Note : Married people can vote regardless of their age International Disputes (I find the phrasing here interesting, so I kept it wholesale): Haitian migrants cross the porous border into the Dominican Republic to find work; illegal migrants from the Dominican Republic cross t...

Wo w, it has really been a while.  Apparently life gets in the way of stuff like this.  Luckily I am starting this writing before the baby comes.  Maybe I' ll finish it before the baby i s born.  Maybe. Note: Now, as I am about to post this, I can tell you that it is looking pretty good that it will get posted before the baby comes... Stats -This time, there were no countries in Oceania that I cooked.  That will change next time.  I did do the other 5 continents (Antarctica as always excluded).        Africa : 11;  Burkina Faso ,  Burundi ,  Cameroon ,  Cape Verde ,  Central African Republic ,  Chad ,  Comoros ,  Congo (Democratic Republic of the) ,  Congo (Republic of the) ,  Cote d'Ivoire , Djibouti ...wow, that was a lot        Asia :  4;  Burma (Myanmar) ,  Cambodia ,  China ,  Cyprus     ...

Location : Caribbean, about halfway between Puerto Rico and Trinidad and Tobago Background : Last of the Caribbean islands to be colonized by the Europeans, due to the resistance of the natives. Area : 751 sq km; 189th largest in the world         Slightly more than four times the size of Washington, DC Terrain : Rugged volcanic mountains Highest Point : Morne Diablotins 1,447 m Natural Hazards : Flash floods and destructive hurricanes Population : Over 73,000; 200th largest in the world Capital : Roseau Diplomatic Relationship : The US does not have an embassy in Dominica, but instead the ambassador to Barbados is accredited to Dominica Economy : Traditionally based on agriculture (bananas), but moving more toward ecotourism Source: CIA Factbook Dominica was one of the stops listed for our honeymoon cruise, and neither Kevin nor I knew much about it.  In fact, we were even pronouncing it wrong...not like the beginning of Dominican Republic, but D...