Of course, it all started with that two-hour ride from Vancouver, which revealed a countryside that put the best postcards to shame ... massive mountains, tiny islands, waterfalls, crystal-clear lakes that put the drinking water in my Harlem apartment to shame. Canada truly is heaven's playground. And then, we made it up to Whistler. It's a ski town that's definitely ready to party, but with the Olympics in town ... wow, things were on a whole new level. Fans from all over the world, wearing their nations' flags like capes, paraded through the streets, shouting and already a few drink deep. I chatted with some of them, cocky kids from Norway, who bragged about their dominance at the Winter Olympics, Americans who were few in number but loud in voice, and, of course, Canadians, who swarmed me looking for any chance to big-up the home nation.

I also spoke with five different athletes from Team USA, got to meet the men and women you usualy only get to see on TV. Kaylin Richardson, Ted Liggity and Julia Mancuso were three highlights, particularly Julia, because she gave me a pair of panties at the end of our interview (but that's another story for a different blog.)

And that's what's been so cool about these games: meeting people. Not just athletes, but regular folk like me and you, from all around the world. The Olympics are amazing because they bring all these people together, and allows them to realize that they're more similar than they are different. I haven't quite figured it all out, but there's definitely a lesson in this that politicians can learn from. Needless to say, I'm looking forward to doing it again tomorrow.