Howdy! And welcome to our first full day in Qatar! After getting a short rest last night, our day began with breakfast at the dorms and learning to navigate the metro system here in Doha. This rail system is extremely state-of-the-art with high speed trains, automated information systems, and safety features such as doors and windows preventing passengers from approaching the gap between the platform and train. Today is an off day for the tournament (meaning there are no matches) so the public transit system has been rather sparse with passengers. Following our introduction to the metro, we arrived at the Doha Exhibition Centre to pickup our accreditation vouchers and volunteer uniforms from FIFA. Most of the individuals assisting in this process were volunteers with many from international locations such as England, Singapore, Mauritius, and the United States. The uniform kit is absolutely loaded with one of a kind Adidas shirts, shoes, jackets, sweatpants, accessories and hats. Following this, we each went back to our dorms and got some rest before seeing a tour of Education City. This is the area where the Qatari government was able to bring American universities to the country and an entire world has been built around it with amenities and services for students from Qatar and abroad. Following this, we had our first volunteer shift at the FIFA Fan Festival. The Fan Festival is the center of World Cup activities that is free to anyone fan. Located in Al Bidda Park, the Fan Festival has amenities such as games, food, cultural activities, live entertainment, and spaces to watch matches for the ultimate fan experience outside of the stadium.
As we have travelled to Qatar, there has been great exposure and interactions with people from all over the world. While writing this, we can't help but think of how much of the world we have yet to see and have sparked an interest to explore it. This experience has, so far, been an incredible way to experience other world cultures in a place that we may have never went to had we not been on this trip. We are looking forward to exploring more and more as we participate in this once in a lifetime experience.
-Hudson Brown & Kyle Sanchez
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