By Travis Misner
NCAA Guest Blogger
Today started off by getting up early and going to a buffet style breakfast. So far, it’s been tough to adjust to the different types of food.
I haven’t strayed too far, only eating PB&J and Cocoa Puffs at breakfast because I’m not the biggest fan of eating things that still have eyes. I have tried some new foods, but not too much.
We had our opening ceremonies after breakfast where they had the Taipei College of Physical Education perform some really cool balance and gymnastics routines that brought the energy of the room up and excited everyone.
They walked in the flags from each of the 67 countries that are represented here. I was expecting somewhere between 15 and 20 countries, so it was a shock to see every country that is here.
After hearing a presentation on sportsmanship and its ability to help development, we broke out into our workshop groups and had a really successful discussion on growth and development through sportsmanship and university sport as a whole. After a short break, we boarded buses and went to our welcoming dinner, which consisted of 12 courses, none of which I had ever heard of.
It wasn’t too bad, I was feeling adventurous so I tried a little of everything. The mayor of Taipei was there to welcome us, and each country received a plaque for our attendance.
It has been really nice getting to know some of the other students that are here, it has been a culture shock to say the least.
