Ye Fei, a volunteer assistant to the US Olympic team, says that the most exciting part of her work at the Olympic Village was getting to know elite athletes. During the last two weeks, she took every opportunity to teach the athletes about Chinese language and culture. Her most famous student was Kobe Bryant, whom Ye reports is now able to greet people in Chinese.

She also treasures the friendships she formed with the other 11 Chinese volunteers serving Team USA. "We are like a small family here," Ye says. For Ye, the greatest reward was experiencing the Olympic spirit up close and personal.

Born in Beijing into a family of legendary Peking Opera performing artists, Ye moved to Hungary at the age of 2 with her parents, whose work involved conducting cultural exchange programs in the country. She then moved again with her parents to the United States at the age of 13, when her parents were invited to teach at Yale University.