The Amazing Race

Maomi playing with the Chinese paper lantern I made yesterday.

Food on a stick to cook in boiling water.

Balls of dough are bounced off a board with bells and then roll down a wall of flour-like coating.

Today we broke into groups and raced around Chengdu in an "Amazing Race" type format.  We were given a photo of the first place we had to go and then asked natives to navigate, while using all resources available.  The first place was known for serving a famous dessert, but we never actually got to try it since it was closed.  Another clue took us to a temple where we ate a lot of good street vendor food, like delicious glutinous rice balls (anything glutinous=delicious).  After saying a Chinese tongue twister to earn the next clue (四是四), we eventually made our way to another restaurant for fried dumplings.  Eventually we reached the final destination of a hot pot eatery (notice the edible theme?), where you choose raw meat, vegetables, and fungi on a stick and then cook it in the pot of boiling water on each table in traditional Sichuan style.  It is similar to the fondue places we have in Indy, but swap water with chocolate (obesity, much?).  My team actually reached the end first after a slightly frenzied trek, but now I know exactly how the participants on "The Amazing Race" feel.

Weirdest things I ate today (and realized I was eating): chicken foot and heart (not at the same time) and pig stomach (that one I only discovered its identity after putting it in my mouth).