It was an Amazing Race!

I have lots of catching up to do...the last few weeks have been super busy, but I have to update you for all of May!

AMAZING RACE!
The first weekend of May I had the opportunity to do an amazing race (like the reality tv show) around Xian! This was one of the most fun things I think I have ever done.
The BREAKDOWN
3 Teams-
Team 1:Brad (leader), Chase (a senior at XIS), and Keera (a 6th grader)
Team 2:Jake (leader), Tori (a freshman), and Noah (a 4th grader)
Team 3:Me(leader), Israel (a sophomore), and Anna (a 8th grader) -in the pic above making dumplings!

10 Tasks/Missions-
1: Go to the Muslim Quarter (a famous street here in Xi'an) and make dumplings at a restaurant.
2: Find an old house/residence and do a charcoal sketch of an emblem that represented that family.
3: Go to a Buddhist Temple and ask a monk where the next clue was.
4: Go to a Park and be hamsters in an inflatable ball on the lake. Stand for 10 seconds.
5: Go to the Small Wild Goose Pagoda.
6: Answer a Question about what happened to the small Pagoda.
Lunch Break!
7: Go to XIS and carry 50 bricks across the track;
8: Go to Xing Qing Park and get in a paddle boat...drive around the island.
9: While on the other side of the island take the food challenge: Eat a 1000 year old egg (the name is figurative).
10: Go to the City Wall's East Gate, and bike to the South Gate where the finish line is located.

These were obviously not the way that the clues were written. We received each clue rolled up and tied with a ribbon. It was very well done. I felt like we were a part of the real thing. It was soooo awesome. The list of teams above is also the order in which we finished :(, but from first place to last place there was only about 15 minutes. The race was intense, but really fun. I have a few pictures and Brad made a map of our route that day (above). Brad's blog on this is also better than mine...he is just more creative and thorough when it comes to these kind of things...so you might want to check his out. I don't know what I am going to do next year when I have to be solely responsible for documenting my adventures...I suppose I will have to try harder.


A few pictures!

love from china!