By Travis Misner
NCAA Guest Blogger

Travis Misner is a junior baseball student-athlete at Division III Loras College.

Yesterday we arrived in Taipei at around midnight here, and we were all exhausted to say the least. Our first flight went from Chicago to Tokyo, and lasted for about 13 hours.

From there, we had a 2 hour layover in Japan, and then took another 4 hour flight to Taipei. The planes were huge, but are not made for people taller than about 5’9″ so it wasn’t the most comfortable ride.

Today we had the whole day to ourselves to kind of explore the area. We went out in the city at around 11 in the morning and didn’t get back until 4.

I was a little hesitant to get into a taxi here when we showed the driver a map, and he had to take out the largest magnifying glass I’ve ever seen to actually see where we wanted to go. First we went to the botanical gardens, then to the President’s headquarters, then stumbled across a street market.

The market looked exactly like they do in the movies; in a small alley with a million people jammed into a tight space. There were wild dogs running around, and people everywhere.

It was a culture shock to say the least.

We also went to an ancient temple, where there were a lot of people praying and offering up goods to the gods. We ended the day by taking the train to the southern part of town to check it out, and then made our way back to the hotel.

The area we’re in is really nice, but it’s definitely a lot different from Iowa.

Andrea Dalton
NCAA Guest Blogger

Andrea Dalton was a four-year women’s basketball standout at Division II Pittsburgh-Johnstown. She now serves as the assistant coach for the Mountain Cats.

The amount of time spent on a plane was worth every second. The incredible sights we saw today were by far some of the most unique and breathtaking; from the Buddhist temples to the 101 building, Taipei is truly an amazing Capitol.

Although we all broke down and had McDonald’s for lunch, we decided to try to be cultured and eat a meal at an Asian styled diner. I have to say I was so impressed.

Although it took us 20 minutes to finally figure out the menu, we were able to cook our own meal in front of us! Too bad Trav and I ordered the spiciest meal on the planet and had to wash it down with a Chinese traditional hot water beverage.

All in all, we had an amazing first day. Not to forget to mention that my roommate is from the Cook Islands off of New Zealand. It’s incredible how much I’ve learned from her in just one day.

I can’t wait to get started up and meet more amazing people tomorrow!

Pictures will follow.