When I visit a new place, or hear about someone else’s trip, it’s the little details that bring the place, the people, and the experience to life. In that spirit, here are some of the things I’ll remember about Hong Kong and the 2008 Olympic equestrian competition.

A global melting pot. Want diversity? Attend an Olympic Games. Different accents and languages everywhere you go, many spoken by the same people. Coming from the city that made headlines for the “This is America; speak English” Philly-cheesesteak-shop debacle, I’m embarrassed at my inability to speak multiple languages and ashamed at how insular my country really is.