"The frantic contestants racing around the world in desperate search of that million-dollar check have their eyes on more than the prize. They're confronting the very diversity of the human experience on this planet, testing not only their speed and skill but also their ability to function in places where their language, their appearance, and their expectations render them alien.

"Anybody who's ever run for a plane at the last minute, anybody's who's ever come face to face with the poverty of the third world, and everybody who's ever left an overseas resort to explore the countryside and meet the locals, has been on an `Amazing Race.' "

7 p.m. - Long Beach Writers Group meets weekly to give and receive feedback on written work. Barnes & Noble, 6326 E. Pacific Coast Highway, Long Beach. (562) 431-2253.

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