Good morning everyone!

It's Emily, Will Thomas, and Meredith coming to you live from the Grand Hyatt Taipei where we are currently getting ready to head out to our second day of committee! But before we go, we have a few updates for you guys.

Two nights ago, we went to the Shilin night market where we ate Chinese food from vendors in a large food market and then headed over to the night market. There were tons of shops and more food vendors in the market. It was a lot of fun walking around and seeing all the different types of things they were selling. You could probably find anything there there were so many different things! The food vendors in the market were selling traditional Chinese dishes as well as some more Western foods as well. One food that we couldn't seem to get away from while wandering the market was the stinky tofu. It smelled awful! Below is a picture of what a street in the night market looked like.

On Sunday morning we got up early and set off for the Jade market again. We got a little lost onthe way because Will Thomas absolutely HAD to go to the Patagonia store in Taipei, but eventually we found not only the Patagonia store but also the Jade Market. The market had lots of different Chinese items to haggle for and buy. Some of the things people purchased included bracelets, rings, wall hanging, scrolls, old Chinese money, and more! It is custom to haggle for the items you buy at this type of market and no one haggled better than Jessica. Not only was she able to haggle with them in Chinese, but the girl is ruthless. She was able to lower the price of a lot of items we were trying to buy by about half the price!

After the jade market, we all headed back to the hotel to get ready for opening ceremonies.

We headed over to opening ceremonies which were held at the beautiful Sun-Yet Sen Memorial Hall in Taipei. You can see the building in the picture below.

At the opening ceremonies, there were a number of guest speakers including the President of Taiwan! He spoke to us about the importance of Model UN and told us about Taiwan and it's role in the international community. In addition to the President, we also heard from the Mayor of Taipei, President of National Taiwan University, Secretary General Ami Nash, and President of Taiwan University's Model UN Club Jason. There was also a performance by a local high school group who did a traditional indigenous tribal dance. Below is a picture of the President of Taiwan as he was speaking.

Following opening ceremonies, we all headed to get dinner in the Taipei 101 food court where everyone enjoyed a meal to their liking. The food court not only has many Chinese food places, but also a few places with Western options as well. After dinner, we went to the first social event: Global Village. This was a chance for countries to showcase their country's food and drink for the other delegates. Schools that had signed up to host a booth set up their tables with food and drink from their countries to share with the other delegates. There was also a dance floor where delegates could come together and dance. Below is a picture of some of our delegation with none other than Secretary General Ami Nash and Jason!

Sorry to everyone who has been following this blog, as you can tell we are really behind! More updates on yesterday's committee sessions, social event, and life in general!

Zai Jian!