Dinner on a Stick

I've seen a few things since coming to Beijing that would never fly most places in the States. For example, large crowds of people advancing lane by lane across a busy five-lane street, until the turning lane is the only one with cars still moving, with over a hundred people waiting for them to stop. While the traffic light is green, of course. Or bicycle crashes--between two bicycles--that involve up to six riders. Seriously. But one thing I never would have thought I'd actually fall in love with--one thing that would never happen in the States because of all our pesky laws and permits--is dinner on a stick. My favorite of these "dishes" is called Yang Rou Chuan, or, since I'm in Beijing and therefore learning a northern accent, Yang Rou Chuar. It basically translates to Sheep Meat on a Stick (or lamb kebab), and boy is it good. It's my dinner whnever I can't decide what to eat, or whenever I realize how much money I'm actually spending in a country where everything's cheaper than at home (it's less than a dollar for two skewers). This would be my dinner, and a short alley-like street I walk past on my way back from class every night: