Taiwan Player Blog: Day 5, Mitch Kates and Will Tashman

Image courtesy of Dawn Anderson

All of the international teams embarked on a day tour of several famous locations in Taiwan. First, we ventured deep into the mountains to the Gold Ecological Park, an old gold mining town. There were numerous spectacular views, including one of a 35 foot solid copper statue of Lord Guan, a warlord in Asian history. We also were surprised to find the remnants of a miniature golf course from hundreds of years ago.Image courtesy of Dawn Anderson

Next, we visited Juifen old street, a famous alley located in the mountain town of Ruifang. The street was filled with vendors selling various goods and foods. In particular, there was a distinct smell of 'sticky tofu' (that is actually what it is called) that really stung the nostrils. Third, we visited the memorial of Chiang Kai Shek, founder of Taiwan. We witnessed the changing of the guards ceremony. For dinner, we went to a very fancy seafood buffet. Image courtesy of Dawn Anderson

Pat enjoyed some snail, while Noel stuck with the usual chicken fingers and fries. Jamie and Ben consumed a combined 6 pounds of desserts. Lastly, we took the world's fastest elevator to the top of the world's second highest building, Taipei 101. Even with a light fog at night, you could see for miles.Image courtesy of Dawn Anderson

Tomorrow afternoon we will be departing for the USA.

Some of our best memories can be recalled from this catchy tune. It was played everywhere we went.

Enjoy:

Taiwan Player Blog: Day 4, Mitch Kates and Will Tashman

Image courtesy of Dawn Anderson

We headed over to Kainan University early in the morning for an autograph session. We were extremely surprised to see a crowd of Kainan girls stretching for hundreds of meters. We spent the next hour signing posters and taking pictures with all of our new fans.

To warm up for the game, we played ping pong for an hour in the table tennis classroom. Jimmy Burke defeated Jamie Karraker in the finals of the tournament to take the crown.

Image courtesy of Dawn Anderson

In the championship game, we played Taipei Physical Education College in front of another packed house. After hot shooting from the floor early on, TPEC led after the first couple minutes, but Noel's inside presence helped to silence the crowd. Great shooting from Billy Johnson and stifling defense from Patrick Sissman helped propel us to a commanding lead in the second half. The seniors finished their career on top, as we all got to cut down the nets after the game. After a trophy presentation, we got to take a couple hundred last minute photos with the fans.

We said goodbye to our gracious hosts at Kainan University and headed back to the hotel to prepare for the night market.

The night market in Taipei was filled with street vendors selling everything from sunglasses to squid, which Billy Bender ate happily. The less adventurous crowd went to KFC for some fine dining. Several of the players bought t-shirts and other small gifts.

-Mitch and Will