Colorado University Athletics
TERA BJORKLUND JOURNAL FROM WORLD UNIVERSITY GAMES
August 19, 2003 | Women's Basketball
Colorado's Tera Bjorklund and Kate Fagan are playing for the U.S. contingent at the World University Games in Daegu, South Korea. The U.S. team is made up entirely of players from the Big 12 Conference. Bjorklund, a 2003-04 John Wooden Award preseason All-American, shares her experiences:
Aug. 19, 2003
Hello, I am happy to announce that we have arrived in Korea safely. We started our journey on Friday morning, where we left the training center in Colorado Springs and headed to San Francisco. We spent one luxurious day and night there, going through team processing. The next morning, we made our way to the airport for the long haul. As we loaded onto the plane, everyone had a moment of silence for our cell phones, which we turned off knowing we wouldn't be using them for a good two weeks.
Once we arrived in Korea after the 12-hour plane ride, we were greeted by the Universidade supporters who chanted "Ode to USA" as we walked through the gates. We all loaded onto our 1970s Austin Powers shag bus for our five-hour ride to Daegu. Halfway through our drive, we stopped at a rest area that served boiled fish paste on a stick, which no one was brave enough to try. We also wimped out on trying the porcelain hole in the ground bathroom and opted for the American porcelain throne.
By the time I arrived at the Athletes Village, I was relieved because I wasn't looked at as a giant 6-5 freak show like I was in Seoul and at the rest stop.
We are all still trying to adjust to life outside the USA. For example, some of us (mainly Coach Harris) think everything is sweet and sour chicken, when it is really sea eel. "Put this on your rice. It will taste good."
Tera Bjorklund
--After just seven practices and over 16 hours of international travel, USA Basketball topped Canada 90-61 in a scrimmage Monday, the team's first practice since arriving in South Korea late Sunday night.
The U.S. team begins play in the World University Games Aug. 21 with a game against Hungary.
Baylor's Steffanie Blackmon and Texas' Heather Schreiber led Team USA with 13 points each. Colorado's Tera Bjorklund added 12 points and eight rebounds. LaToya Harris (Texas Tech) and Alexa Johnson (Nebraska) had nine points each, while Evan Unrau (Missouri) tallied eight points.
