Andrea Dalton
NCAA Guest Blogger

Seeing as my counterpart produced a great many more blogs than I have, I feel more than obliged to give my final remarks about my experience in Taiwan. I had way more faith in using my iphone to complete all my blogs; however, I realized how hard that task actually was. Now that I am home, I am going to share the rest of my experiences at the ease of my HP.

The rest of the forum days went incredibly well. Our groups discussed the meanings of true leadership and how we can implement more youth into leadership roles. I find it so fascinating how all of us come from such different backgrounds, but we share such strong faith in our generation being able to change our countries’ agendas. After our final workshop, I felt at ease knowing that the United States is not the only country interested in promoting sport values in our youth.

My favorite day, by far, was Friday–the actual Forum Fair. We traveled to a local sport university and had the opportunity to try two new sports: badminton and archery. I practiced archery, but I didn’t have the nerve to shoot at the target.

I think pride is my American downfall, and seeing Travis excel at it made me not even want to give it a try. So to better my mood, I had to go play Travis in basketball, knowing very well I would win.

And, yes, I won.

Part of the Oceania tribe’s cultural event!

After he and I played, we ventured on our own. He went to play soccer and I went to play basketball with the different countries. I think my favorite part of this experience was seeing each individual’s sportsmanship.

I played on the opposing team from my two friends from Italy and Spain, and anytime I made a shot or a nice pass they came up and complemented me. I was so shocked by everyone’s positive attitudes. Very rarely do I see friendly and fun pick-up basketball games. Every game I’ve played in, from pick-up to conference play, has been like playing in the NCAA National Championship—competitive to the core.

It was so refreshing to play and actually just have fun; to laugh at myself for a mistake, and applauding an opponent for making an awesome move against me. I think we need more of those games in the states.

After playing some sports, every country set up booths and we had the opportunity to walk around and learn more about each individual country (picture the set up of a college fair.) I received so much literature on each country; learning about their culture, economy, and natural/ man-made landmarks.

The whole Oceania men’s tribe at the fair!

At the end of the fair, each country had the opportunity to showcase some type of cultural event. Clearly, Travis and I kept off the stage, although I was tempted to teach them how to Dougie.

Costa Rica taught us how to Salsa and the Oceania tribe taught us a ritual dance (which scared the living day lights out of me-they made Travis look like a punk, and I would place money on any one of those guys in a fight!) My wonderful roommate, Maruia, from the Cook Islands taught me how to dance and she let me wear her traditional skirt around for the rest of the night.

The final day of our trip to Taiwan proved just as remarkable. We embarked on a cultural trip in the morning to the Pavilion of Dreams, an engineered artistic journey into the life of a flower. It was so serine, yet you could marvel at the high level of technology required to create such a wonderful setting.

The Pavilion of Dreams—they showed you your dream- mine was Career

We then headed back to our hotel, got ready, and headed out for the Farewell Dinner—where we learned that Travis was selected to present at the FISU games in Russia! (So happy for you, buddy!)

We enjoyed our last dinner, or as they called it, party with all of the countries. It was sad to say goodbye on Sunday, but I was so anxious to get back to the states to tell everyone of this amazing experience.

I truly cannot thank everyone enough for the opportunity to experience Taiwan and meet all of the other participating countries. Lori and Delise are fabulous, and I wish them the best. Along with the NCAA, NAIA, and all other participating organizations, they have given something to me that cannot really be described in words.

My new friend from Thailand!

I have made lifelong friends, friends who I know I can call when I travel to Italy, London, Spain, Korea, South Africa, the Cook Islands, and of course, Taiwan. As I said before, one of the most beautiful experiences of my life was seeing every country come together to share their own experiences and life values.

I didn’t think about war.

I didn’t think about economic crisis.

I didn’t think about racism.

I didn’t think about all of the problems each country has currently or had in the past.

All I could see was optimism and excitement for our generation, as we all come together to lead the way of humanistic reform in each of our countries.

So, what did I learn? What is the main lesson I took away from this conference?

Leadership is not just a platform for sustainability. Leadership is a platform for global connectedness.

Sports are the common thread that links us all together, but the variation of our all our experiences, that is what makes us unique.

By Travis Misner
NCAA Guest Blogger

The final day of the conference was today, and it was very bittersweet. I’ve had the most amazing time in Taipei, making connections with people all over the world.

At the same time though, I’m excited to come home and get back to real life. We started out the day by going to a place called “Pavilion of Dreams.” This was a technologically advanced museum, where you were given a hologram of a flower at the beginning of the tour, and made your way through a labyrinth of giant leaves, as if you were an insect then to a room full of interactive 3D pictures.

This was one of the coolest places I’ve ever been to without question.

After that we had our closing ceremonies and dinner to cap off the conference. At the ceremony, the committee announced that they were going to elect one male and one female student from the forum to represent the voice of the students at the 2013 university games in Kazan, Russia. They said that the 2 students were who the selection committee found to display great leadership qualities and public speaking abilities.

To my surprise, the chair of the committee called my name to represent the males from the conference. This is truly an honor and I cannot wait for the games in 2013.

As the trip winds down and I have an opportunity to reflect, I can honestly say this was the greatest experience of my life to this point, and I am so thankful for the opportunity to attend. I’ve made lifelong friends and gained knowledge about other cultures that is priceless.

Now for the 17 + hour flights before I’m back in Dubuque for classes tomorrow.

By Travis Misner
NCAA Guest Blogger

Today was by far the most fun day of the conference so far. We first had a workshop on leadership, which is always an interesting topic. Then after that, we went to the Taipei University of Physical Education and got to participate in different types of sports such as archery, badminton, soccer, and basketball.

After this we had a culture fair, where every country had a booth and gave away information and pins for their own country. We saw the students from the Oceania region perform the tribal haka dance that is a custom in their culture.

It was such a great time seeing different cultures and seeing what everyday life is like for students around the globe. After that we went to dinner at a German restaurant, thank goodness, to get some food in my stomach that I’m used to.

At one point when everyone was waiting for their dinner to come, one student picked up his ukulele and a man from New Caledonia and the woman from Finland began dancing. After about 30 seconds of dancing, everyone at dinner joined in.

It turned into a huge mob of people, in the middle of the restaurant, dancing to the ukulele. Eventually, there was a train of people, some on others shoulders, dancing through the room.

It has been such a great experience thus far, and I’m excited for tomorrow’s cultural event and closing ceremonies.

By Travis Misner
NCAA Guest Blogger

The theme for today’s workshops was University Sport: a Fertile Ground for Leadership Development. I was given the unique opportunity to present on my experiences with leadership and intercollegiate athletics to the entire conference.

I talked about the roles that are available throughout university sport in the United States, and how we are unique compared to most countries because of the sheer size and emphasis we put on collegiate athletics.

In the last couple of days Andrea and I have really been able to mingle with people from the other countries. We’ve made great friends with students and advisors from Australia, Great Britain, Spain, and Italy to name a few.

Today when we had a little free time after all of the meetings, Andrea and I were invited out to play cricket with some of the other members of FISU. I have minimal experience in cricket but thought I could probably hold my own with my baseball experience, but I was wrong.

The cricket we played in one of my physical education classes was a little different, and needless to say I received a lot of grief from everyone because they expected more out of the Americans.

Coming into this I knew I would meet people, but I really believe that I have made lifelong friends through this week alone. I also now have connections all over the world in case I ever decide to travel abroad again.

By Travis Misner
NCAA Guest Blogger

Today the topic of discussion was gender equality in University Sport. We had a couple great discussions in our breakout workshops with about 15 other students and administrators from around the globe.

Our cultural event was a trip to one of the world’s tallest buildings in Taipei 101. It was really cool seeing the view of Taiwan from 500 meters in the air.

For me, it was similar to going to the top of the Sears Tower in Chicago. The difference, though, is there are no mountains in Chicago.

After going to the tower, we explored the area and got to walk through the local mall. This city really is a different place at night. It reminds me of the Vegas strip, because every building and market is lit up with all different colors.

View from the Taipei 101

I’ve also noticed that everybody here is a New York Knicks fan. I thought Lin-sanity was crazy back home; it is taken to another level here.

There are Jeremy Lin jerseys, t-shirts, and posters everywhere. Not to mention every commercial on ESPN has him in it too.

It’s funny how there are so many differences between the US and Taiwan, yet there are some similarities that I never would have thought of.

Andrea Dalton
NCAA Guest Blogger

Jetlag has definitely set in. However, I was excited to hear some more lectures and to get the workshop started.

After listening to the conclusions from the previous day’s session, we heard some more speakers and broke out into group discussion. The topic trending: women in athletics.

I thought the subject would be very touchy, but I was wrong. In most “developing” countries, female athletes experience the same issues that we face in America.

I was really shocked to see how much more progressive the Middle Eastern countries actually are. After discussing ways in which women could form leadership roles in athletics, we called it a day.

Today’s cultural trip: Taipei 101. This is the second tallest building in the world.

I hate heights.

Clearly, I didn’t think that this trip was in my best interest, but Travis convinced me otherwise. We went up 89 flights in under 45 seconds (my ears have never popped so much) and had the opportunity to look out over the city.

Travis seized the opportunity, while I did not. He got me a pretty good picture of the view though, so I can at least pretend that I was brave enough to look out.

When we returned home, I found myself in bed by 7:00pm. I don’t believe I’ve been in bed my 7:00pm since 3rd grade.

I hope tomorrow promises more great discussions and lectures…and thank goodness, no more record-breaking buildings.

By Travis Misner
NCAA Guest Blogger

Today was another great day outside, low 70’s with not a cloud in the sky. We had the opportunity after our group breakout workshops to visit the National Palace Museum which holds the largest collection of precious items that date back to the 12th century.

The tour guide told us that the museum puts something like 3,000 pieces on display at any one time, but they have over 600,000 pieces in total. She went on to say that if you wanted to see every piece the museum has, you’d have to come back every 3 months for the next 20 years.

It was really interesting to think about how old these intricate treasures really are, and it made me realize how young the United States is. It really began to set in today how different cultures are across the globe.

The view from my room

I was discussing with my roommate, Rob, who is from the Cook Islands in between New Zealand and Australia, how to play baseball. He told me that he saw his first ever game on TV the other day and was confused by it compared to cricket.

This was shocking to me because baseball is just second nature for me and it is such a big part of our sporting society in America. I think the best part of the conversation was the fact that he was playing his ukulele the whole time.

Thus far the trip has been everything I’ve imagined and then some, I could not have been completely prepared for the differences I’ve seen. Tomorrow we get to visit one of the largest buildings in the world, Taipei 101, hopefully the weather stays the same.

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Andrea Dalton
NCAA Guest Blogger

The twelve hour time change is definitely taking a toll. I didn’t realize how tired I was until I had to be up for breakfast at 8:00am.

After eating a hearty breakfast of peanut butter and jelly and pork sausage (yes, I realize how uncultured this breakfast sounds) we gathered in the lecture hall and listened to keynote speakers discuss sports as a sustainable ground for development. After the speakers presented, we had the opportunity to break out into our groups and discuss this topic with other countries.

I prefer listening in these groups, not so much because I don’t have anything to contribute, but I am so intrigued to see how other countries view athletics within their communities. After listening to representatives from South Africa and Israel, I completely realized how incredibly fortunate athletes in the United States are because of the opportunities presented to us.

I think a lot of athletes take advantage of the system; we sometimes believe it is our right instead of our privilege to be university athletes. In some Asian countries, students are not even introduced to sports until the age of 14.

The United States is almost virtually the only country in the world that has university-sponsored athletics. Lucky is an understatement. I like to think that we are blessed for having so many choices and opportunities.

Once the forum was complete for the day, we were shuttled to a Chinese museum of artifacts and treasures. We just so happened to pick the busiest day of the year, so we weren’t able to see much. But it was nice to see a tiny part of their traditional history up close.

If today is any indication of how the rest of the week will play out, I am confident that I will be taking a lot away from this experience!

Andrea Dalton
NCAA Guest Blogger

Having jet lag setting in, I found waking up extremely difficult—like, hitting-the-snooze-6-times-before-my-Monday-8am-class hard. Nevertheless, I got up and met Lori, Delise, and Travis for breakfast.

What’s on the menu? Raw fish, noodles, dried fruit and vegetables and tofu.

Thankfully I found a relatively American-friendly station and made myself a peanut butter and jelly (as you can tell, I can’t get over the whole food thing–typical American.)

I was, however, excited to get the day started. After we ate, we attended the opening ceremony.

Our idea of a fantastic athlete is Lebron James, Hines Ward, Maya Moore, and Michael Phelps. After seeing the students from Taiwan’s University of Sport and Physical Education, I think my perceptions might change a tad.

The incredible performances these students put on and the ways they used their bodies was unlike anything I’ve ever seen. Truly remarkable.

If allowed, I’ll send the video I took. You have to see it to believe it.

The keynote speakers spoke on leadership as a platform for sustainable development and we had the opportunity to workshop after their presentations. It was an eye-opening experience.

Hearing how few countries have the opportunity to actually compete in sports and how little their governments run their initiatives is mind-blowing. Some Asian countries are only exposed to sports in school at the age of 14.

As Americans, I think we sometimes take advantage of our own system. We don’t realize how privileged we are to have so many opportunities to play multiple sports at such a young age.

We ended our evening with a welcome dinner at an offsite location. There we enjoyed a 12 course meal (I was bound to find something I like.) It was a great way to end our first actual day of forum!

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.