Tears were streaming down the eyes of Tionne Cain, a sophomore English major, when she participated in the Spicy Noodle Challenge hosted by the Korean Students Association.

Cain explained how she thought the experience was “like death.”

“It was hot water, hot ramen and hot spices, and I have tears,” she said.

Cain signed her consent form before being given a name card to keep track of her time after she arrived.

Participants then went to the kitchen, where they were given their cups of noodles with boiling water.

After draining the water and mixing the spices in, they went into the room where members of the Korean Students Association timed how long it took each person to finish their noodles.

She said to her friends, “The closer we get to doing it, the sadder I get.”

To begin the Spicy Noodle Challenge, you put boiling water into the ramen noodles bought from an Asian market, then mix the noodles after draining the water. Then put the spice packets into the cup of noodles, mix it and finish it as fast as you can.

Water, milk or any other drinks are not allowed during the challenge, and drinking is considered a failure.

The rules state you must finish the entire cup of noodles.

Cain said even though it took her a little over two minutes to finish the challenge, it was fun and she was glad she went.

She stated it was harder in the beginning, but she said once your mouth is burning you can’t even taste the spices anymore, and it gets easier to finish.

Not all students who participated in the challenge had a hard time like Cain.

Megan Zufall, a freshman art major, said she finished her cup in 33 seconds.

“It wasn’t even spicy, but it was fun. I met a lot of nice people.”

Olumide Oluwadahunsi, a special education major, said he thought it was a fun experience.

He was the winner overall of the challenge, with a time of 11 seconds.

“It wasn’t hard for me since it was like the spices from back home in Nigeria,” he said.

He said his technique was to just throw back the noodles and swallow them. He said he tried to rush it, but it wasn’t too spicy to him.

Oluwadahunsi received a Starbucks gift card for winning the challenge.

Alex Laleian came in second place with 19 seconds, and Miguel Uasquez-Serrano came in third place with 21 seconds.

Min Jeon, a freshman management information systems major, said they wanted to do this challenge in light of Asian Heritage Month.

“Some of the events are kind of boring, so we wanted to do something fun,” she said.

She said the reason they picked this for the event was because this is a viral challenge and it is a fun experience for students to participate in to celebrate Asian Heritage Month.

The event was held from 1:30 until 4 p.m., and it took place in the Cultural Center.

The next event for Asian Heritage Month is calligraphy lessons, which will be held April 10 in the Arcola-Tuscola Room from 1-3:30 p.m.

Bailey Taylor can be reached at 581-2812 or at bataylor3@eiu.edu.