Monday, November 26, 2007

Amazing Race - "I just feel like everyone should get their time and they've already had their time two times before this"

Departing the Pit Stop in first place at 7:58am, siblings Azaria & Hendekea opened their clue to learn they had to walk along a marked path to nearby village and find Dakissaga, the tribal chief, who would give them their clue along with a customary gift of generosity. After running along the dirt path to the village, the siblings met Dakissaga, a man dressed in the blue finery of a tribal chief, who warmly welcomed them and extended his hand to introduce their gift: a live chicken. The pair took one of the clucking creatures from the pen and opened their next clue, instructing them to take a taxi 100 miles to the town of Bouda Pelegtanga. As a sign of respect to the tribal chief, Teams also had to keep their newly acquired gift with them at all times to successfully complete the leg.

Still holding a slight lead, siblings Azaria & Hendekea arrived in the small town of Bouda Pelegtanga amid the great expanse of the African Savannah, where a stunned Azaria watched in disbelief as his sister went off in search of a bathroom. This timeout allowed dating couples Nate & Jen and TK & Rachel to run past the siblings to the cluebox, where they found a Detour with the choice of Shake Your Pan or Shake Your Booty. In Shake Your Pan, Teams had to choose a gold mining pit and, using the local panning method, mine at least one ounce of gold. In Shake Your Booty, Teams must learn a local traditional dance and perform it for a panel of local celebrities, but they also had to include their own creative dance moves. If the judges were impressed, they would receive their clue. However, if the judges weren't impressed, the Team would incur a ten-minute penalty.

With Jen being a recent dancer for the LA Clippers basketball team, the choice of Shake Your Booty was an easy one. After watching a local tribesman in full decorative costume demonstrate the dance, Nate & Jen briefly practiced the steps as a crowd and the three celebrity judges waited in anticipation of the performance. While traditional music and drums were played by a band, the dating couple shook, rattled, and rolled to the beat hoping to impress the stern looking judges. After a shaky finish, the pair stood hoping for a positive outcome, but instead the judges deemed that their dance was not creative enough. The Team incurred a 10-minute penalty. The very competitive Jen, embarrassed from losing a dance challenge, became concerned that they may have blown their chance at finally winning a leg.

With dating couple TK & Rachel changing their mind to mine for gold instead, siblings Azaria & Hendekea stepped up to the stage next for their performance. Having had the opportunity to watch Nate & Jen, the siblings put a few creative turns as they completed the steps. While the judges deliberated, the siblings sweated it out nervously, but their anxiety turned to exhilaration when the judges handed them their clue. Opening it, the pair learned they had to walk through the village and find the Pelegtanga Market. Once there, they would find a new twist in the Race, the U-turn, found at the end of a Detour. Teams could use the power of the U-turn to slow down another, Team forcing them to backtrack and perform the other side of the Detour they did not previously complete. Teams can only use this power once in the Race, so they need to decide the best time to use it.

Disappointed at having lost their lead, Nate & Jen finished up their penalty and ran off in pursuit of the siblings and the elusive first place. At the Pelegtanga Market, Azaria & Hendekea opted not to use the U-turn and opened their next clue, instructing them to travel by taxi to the outskirts of Ouagadougou and find the Tampouy Goat Market. Still in a close second place, Nate & Jen also chose not to use the U-turn with Jen explaining, "We're gonna win this Race like frickin' men." As father and daughter Ron & Christina waited 10-minutes after incurring a penalty, dating Goths Kynt & Vyxsin put on a master dance class that delighted the crowd and the judges equally. Later, in their taxi to the goat market, Kynt noted, "Here in Africa, to them we look kind of like aliens that dropped from the sky or something and yet, they've been so warm and smiley and kind."

The decision to switch to mining proved disastrous for dating couple TK & Rachel. While Nick & Don sunk their hands in the mud and sifted for gold with little trouble, the dating couple just couldn't find the shiny nuggets they needed. After arriving at the Detour cluebox in second place, the pair now fell to sixth place with friends Shana & Jennifer closing the gap after learning the dance moves. Once TK realized that he hadn't been digging far enough down in the mud, the gold began to emerge from the ooze and the couple collected their fortune along with the clue. At the same time, Shana & Jennifer shook their moneymakers for the panel of judges and earned their clue. With both Teams unsure where they stood in the competition, the race to the U-turn was on. Shana & Jennifer had intentions of using the U-turn while TK & Rachel hoped to avoid becoming the victims. Stepping onto the U-turn mat, Shana insisted to a very hesitant Jennifer they had no choice but to use it. From a distance, a nervous TK thought Shana & Jennifer might be U-turning him and Rachel, but instead the friends chose to U-turn Lorena & Jason, who hadn't even arrived at Bouda Pelegtanga, because Shana insisted she saw the couple behind them.

The decision to U-turn caused friction between the friends and raised the eyebrow of TK. Defending her choice to Jennifer, Shana said, "It's not about being nice. You want to be out of the game because we were nice? Right now, nobody's our friend. They're our competition." On their decision, TK commented, "I think it was a bad move on the blondes' part strategically. I think the blondes now may have a target on their backs."

Arriving at the Tampouy goat market in a virtual dead heat, Azaria & Hendekea and Nate & Jen opened up their clue to find a Roadblock. In this Roadblock, one Team member had to load a bicycle with an unwieldy amount of supplies including a potentially uncooperative goat. Then they had to ride the bike like traditional local delivery people to the marketplace, where each Team must find a different specified vendor and deliver their supplies.After Azaria and Jen loaded up their bikes, the pair rode off, still neck and neck in a battle for first place. Unable to speak French, both Racers struggled in the crowded marketplace to find the correct vendor to deliver their goods. Azaria narrowly edged out Jen in the delivery, but she ran alongside him back to their waiting partners. With a potential victory hanging in the balance, both Teams instructed their taxis to take them to the Hotel de Ville, the city hall home to the mayor's office and the Pit Stop.

Last place Lorena & Jason arrived at Bouda Pelegtanga and opted to dance for their clue. With Lorena leading the moves and instructing Jason every step of the way, the pair successfully performed for the judges. Believing they had gained some ground on the other Teams, they were shocked to see their faces on the U-turn sign, but instead of giving up, the couple ran to the mining and began to sift through the mud. As Lorena & Jason panned for gold, Rachel and Shana began loading their bikes well behind the other Teams. The two women struggled to fasten the bulky items, while Jennifer worried about the ramifications of their U-turn decision. Jennifer commented, "Strategically, I think this was a grave mistake that we made." With Shana and Rachel still loading up, Lorena & Jason mined the one ounce of gold they needed and ran to the taxi as Jason said, "Let's go catch 'em."

Pulling up to the Hotel de Ville together, Azaria & Hendekea and Nate & Jen ran from their taxis to the mat where Phil waited. Hendekea reached Phil first, but her partner ran in a different direction, allowing Nate & Jen to close the gap. In a photo finish, Azaria hit the mat mere moments before the dating couple to secure a third win in four chances. As Phil awarded the siblings a pair of Yamaha motor scooters, a fuming Jen stood silent. When Phil prompted her, she commented, "I just feel like everyone should get their time and they've already had their time two times before this."

While Christina and Nick delivered their goods to secure third and fourth place for their Teams, Vyxsin encountered some unexpected problems en route to a fifth place finish. During the Roadblock, she noted the extreme conditions around the market, including mountains of garbage and swarms of flies on fish juxtaposed against the smiling helpful children who led her to the vendor. Afterwards in the taxi, she broke down in tears over the experience, crying, "These people are just so wonderful and to grow up and just live and this is it for you, you know?"

With Lorena & Jason bearing down on the goat market, Shana and Rachel began to make their delivery, but the language barrier proved difficult for the women. Unable to communicate, the pair wasted valuable time while Lorena & Jason kept the hope alive. Rachel found her vendor first, but quickly became lost trying to return to TK after making a wrong turn. This allowed Shana to complete her delivery and return to Jennifer for a sixth place finish.

The desolate streets of the market confused Rachel as Lorena & Jason continued to keep their fingers crossed in the taxi. Jason promised, "If we don't get eliminated, we are going to screw over the blondes." However, that remained a promise unfulfilled as a flustered Rachel finally found TK and the relieved couple finished the leg in seventh place.After completing the Roadblock, Jason comforted a crying Lorena in the taxi, saying, "We'll make a million dollars another way, okay? Money doesn't make you wealthy." On the mat after being eliminated by Phil, Lorena commented, "Marriage is definitely something that's important to me, but now coming to the Race and seeing other things that are much more valuable, I don't have to do it now. I can take it slower. I don't have to be in a rush all the time." Jason added, "I love Lorena no matter what happens. I just think there's some kind of confinement within a marriage that I think you just can't have when you're free. When two people are both free I think you can experience a deeper love because, I feel like we're in it because we want to stay in it."

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