Fireworks. Food. Puppets. Dancers. Thanks to the 10,000 volunteeers who made the games run smoothly. Speakers who droned on so long that the athletes took things into their own hands and started do improvised dances along the track.

The athletes were all seated at tables on the field and, as the evening unfolded, they were served a thirteen course banquet of Taiwanese specialties. This ceremony was less organized and less focused which probably reflected the mood of the athletes themselves.

In the end, the Deaflympics flag was passed from Taipei to Athens. At this point, it's hard to think about any travel except our trip back to Toledo tomorrow. Good-bye Taipei. We've all be changed by this experience in ways that we'll fully understand only in the days to come.