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The Amazing Race: Hey Jennifer - It's A Race!
Scoreboard by Jenny Lane
November 26, 2007
Last week on Amazing Race, the nine teams left the Netherlands and headed to West Africa. There, they dealt with culture shock, crowded trains, and milking camels. Azaria and Hendekea arrived at the pit stop in first place, followed closely by TK and Rachel, Nathan and Jennifer, and Kynt and Vyxsin. At the end, it came down to Marianna and Julia, and Lorena and Jason. In a footrace to the finish, Lorena and Jason arrived at the pitstop in eighth place, so they were still in the race. Marianna and Julia arrived in last place, and were eliminated.
This week, as the teams left the pit stop, they were told to find the tribal chief in a nearby village to get their next clue and a "customary gift of generosity." This gift was a chicken, which they had to put inside a small mesh bag and take with them as they traveled by taxi to Bouda Pelegtanga. The chicken had to be kept with them at all times in order to successfully complete that leg of the race (mmm….chicken legs!) and they were told "no chicken, no check in!"
After Azaria and Hendekea got to their destination, Azaria was frustrated because Hendekea had to take time out to go to the bathroom. (At which point my husband remarked that he finds it odd that we never see the teams eating or finding bathrooms.) The bathroom break allowed Nathan and Jennifer to take over first place and start the detour first. The detour was a choice between "shake your pan" or "shake your booty." The pan task involved using the local mining method to mine one ounce of gold. The booty option was to perform a dance for local celebrities, and include their own moves in the dance as well as the customary dance moves. If the judges didn't like their dance, the team incurred a ten minute penalty.
Despite the possibility of a ten minute penalty, all of the teams chose to do the dance, except for Nicolas and Donald. Nathan and Jennifer's dance didn't show enough of their own creativity, so they got the ten minute penalty from the judges. Rachel and TK decided that the dance was too hard to learn so they switched to the mining task. Azaria and Hendekea's dance got applause from the local crowd, and they got their clue. Ronald and Christina's dance earned them the ten minute penalty.
Donald seemed to have prior mining experience, and they finished quickly. TK and Rachel had no idea how to separate the gold from the mud, and the task went slowly for them. Kynt and Vyxsin's dance got applause and laughs from the crowd, and they got their clue right away. Shana and Jennifer's dance was more like a stripper routine, which the guys in the crowd enjoyed. So did the judges, because they also got their clue with no penalty.
From the detour, the teams had to make their way on foot to the Pelegtanga market to find their next clue. There, they would find the first of only two U-Turns in the race. Teams can use the power to slow down another team, forcing them to backtrack and complete the detour option that they did not originally choose. The next clue was to travel to the outskirts of Ouagadougou and find a goat market to get the next clue. The first five teams didn't use the U-Turn, but Shana and Jennifer decided to U-Turn Jason and Lorena.
Azaria and Hendekea were first at the goat market, and their roadblock asked "who's ready for a juggling act," which was kind of a misleading clue. The person had to overload a bike with various supplies, including a goat that was strapped in a little basket. Then they had to deliver the supplies to various vendors throughout the market. Azaria decided to do the roadblock, and so did Jennifer. They both found local people to help them find their vendors, and walked their overloaded bikes. Vyxsin, Christina, Nicolas, Shana and Rachel also elected to do the roadblock.
Lorena and Jason finished their dance successfully and headed out to discover their U-Turn fate. When they saw their picture, they were of course mad at Shana and Jennifer. I'm always surprised that people are mad when this kind of thing happens, and how they take things personally. They found the mining task and were able to finish pretty quickly.
As they made their way around the market, Azaria showed his comfort with the culture and skill with the language, and easily found his way to the various vendors. The next instructions were to find the Hotel de Ville, the next pit stop. Azaria and Hendekea, and Nathan and Jennifer arrived at the pit stop at the same time, and both teams raced full speed to find Phil. It was close, but Azaria and Hendekea made it a second before Nathan and Jennifer. They got first place, and also two scooters. Nathan and Jennifer were a respectable, but disappointed second. Phil commented on how disappointed Jennifer looked, and she said "everyone should get their time, and they've already had their time, two times before this."
The next five teams finished their deliveries and headed to the pit stop. Finally, Lorena and Jason arrived at the goat market. Jason chose to do the task, and they knew they were in last place. In another race to the finish, Ronald and Christina arrived at the pit stop in third place, followed by Nicolas and Donald in fourth, and Kynt and Vyxsin in fifth. Shana and Jennifer came in sixth, and TK and Rachel finished seventh. Lorena and Jason came in last, and were eliminated from the race.
The standings have moved around a bit, here's how I see things now:
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Azaria and Hendekea
Current Ranking: 1 - Previous Ranking: 2
Azaria and Hendekea are a brother/sister team. (In case you were wondering, Azaria is the brother and Hendekea is the sister.) He is 27, and is a facilities engineer in New Orleans. She is 23, and is an aerospace engineer in Torrence, CA. Both are worried that the race will bring out power struggles between the two of them.
Azaria and Hendekea continue to impress me, and finished first for the third time. The probably deserved to be ranked first last week as well. For the most part, they get along well and have great teamwork. Being siblings, they know each others' strengths and weaknesses, and have a different dynamic than the teams who are in relationships. Barring something happening with a flight, I expect them to continue to dominate in the next several legs of the race.
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Nathan and Jennifer
Current Ranking: 2 - Previous Ranking: 4
Jennifer and Nathan have been dating for two years, but have broken up several times along the way. She is 23, and is a student at Cal State Long Beach and a gymnastics coach. She used to be on the LA Clippers spirit dance team. He is 24, and is a volleyball coach and a waiter in Fountain Valley, CA. They are nauseatingly cute, and look like Ken and Barbie. They are both stubborn and drive each other crazy. They are here to test their relationship.
Jennifer and Nathan came in second, and are a strong team. I considered ranking them lower, simply because I see Jennifer breaking down at some point. For now, I'm ranking them second based on their strong performance the last few legs.
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TK and Rachel
Current Ranking: 3 - Previous Ranking: 1
Rachel and TK have been dating for less than a year. She is 23, and is a floral store owner. He is 22, and is a substitute teacher. Yet another team from Southern CA, this team comes to us from Huntington Beach. He was a collegiate swimmer, and she started working right out of high school.
TK and Rachel finished seventh this week, next to last place. I was pretty surprised by this, and it told me that they aren't as strong as I had thought they were. This leg didn't involve a flight or a long trip, so it was pretty much up to the teams to earn their places. I think Rachel is much weaker than I had previously thought she was, and I don't see them as frontrunners anymore. However, for now I'm still putting them in third, because I see them as stronger than the rest of the pack.
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Kynt and Vyxsin
Current Ranking: 4 - Previous Ranking: 3
Kynt and Vyxsin have been dating on and off for three years, and are Goths. Yes, you heard me right, Goths. They are both waiters (at different restaurants) and receptionists (at the same hair salon). He is 31, she is 29, and they are from Louisville, KY. They love fashion, shopping, and doing each others' hair and makeup.
I see Kynt and Vyxsin hanging around for a while, but not making it back up to the front of the pack. I could be wrong, and they could surprise me, but for right now I see them as possibly making the final three, but probably not. I have nothing at all against them, I just don't think that they're as travel-savvy or as athletic as the top three teams. Eventually, Vyxsin is going to have to stop doing 90% of the work, and she's going to have to let Kynt do something. Maybe he'll rise to the occasion and do really well for them, but I'm not counting on it.
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Donald and Nicolas
Current Ranking: 5 - Previous Ranking: 7
Nicolas and Donald are this season's most unique couple, a grandson and grandfather. (Yes, for me they beat out the Goths and the lesbian religious leaders.) Nicolas is 23, and is a pilot from Chicago but based out of San Juan. Donald is 68, retired, and from Elkhorn, WI. Nicolas is very well traveled due to his profession, and will likely be good at reading maps. Donald likes to tell his Nicolas what to do and wants him to do it.
I'm happy to say that Nicolas and Donald really impressed me this week. They're slowly and steadily doing better each week. They also seem to be figuring out how to work well with each other. In the beginning, I figured that they would implode before they got to the third week. Now I think that they could be the dark horse in this competition. It all depends on if Donald can continue to keep up with the athletic portions of the race.
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Ronald and Christina
Current Ranking: 6 - Previous Ranking: 5
Ronald and Christina are this season's father/daughter team. He is 58, and is a VP of Sales in Tacoma, WA. She is 26, and is a policy analyst in Washington, DC with degrees from both Duke and Princeton. Ronald traveled a great deal while Christina was growing up, so Christina hopes this race will provide them with some much-needed quality time together. Both of them have lived and worked abroad, so they are well traveled.
Ronald and Christina did much better this week than I expected them to. They seem to be getting along a little better, but I still see small pockets of irritation coming from both of them. Ronald also has his hernia issue, and apparently next week he's going to take a big fall off of some stilts. Neither one of them is very athletic, so that's going to hurt them in the long run.
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Shana and Jennifer
Current Ranking: 7 - Previous Ranking: 8
Shana and Jennifer have been friends for six years. Both live in LA and both are 32. Shana is an actress, TV host and just finished chef school. Jennifer is a legal assistant and stock market researcher. They are the epitome of stereotypical CA blondes, and I'm sure they'll try to use their looks to help them along the way. They have traveled a lot, but this season that isn't unique.
I can't tell you how tired I am of these two and their complaining. It looks like next week we get to see them turn on each other, and maybe that will be the beginning of the end. They aren't athletic, nor are they incredibly intelligent. They don't seem to be incredibly anything, except irritating. If in fact they can't figure out how to pull together and work with each other, they don't have a chance.
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Lorena and Jason
Eliminated: Leg 4
Lorena and Jason have been dating for three years. She is 27, and is a bartender, waitress and actress. He is 33, and is a wedding videographer, actor, and teaches martial arts. They live together in Sherman Oaks CA. She's ready to get married, but he is not. In fact, he says he always has "one foot out the door." They hope that the race will help them decide if they really belong together. Both are well traveled and physically fit.
Even if Lorena and Jason hadn't been U-Turned by Shana and Jennifer, they still might have been the team eliminated this week. They were in last place, and the U-Turn just put them further back. They could have done well, but it just didn't happen for them. I'm not sad to see them go, if it hadn't happened this week, it would have been soon.
If you'll remember, Lorena is the one who wanted to get married but Jason didn't. In her post-race interview, Lorena said that the race taught her that while marriage is still something she wants, she also wants to be with Jason, and doesn't need to be in a hurry all the time. Jason doesn't seem to have changed his mind, and said "there's some kind of confinement in a marriage that you don't have when you're free, and when you're free you have a deeper love because you're in it because you want to be."
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Marianna and Julia
Eliminated: Leg 3
Marianna and Julia are sisters from Miami. Marianna is 25, and is an art gallery manager. Julia is 26, and is a production assistant. They describe themselves as best friends and worst enemies. Julia is the problem solver and is sensitive, while Marianna is the athlete and can be sarcastic.
Here's a couple that I started out wanting to do well, and now I'm happy to see them go. Julia dug her own grave when she gave Lorena camel milking advice. Had she not done that, we might have lost Lorena and Jason this week instead. Even if that had happened, I still think they would have been eliminated before too long. They weren't strong physically or mentally, and just never seemed to get into the swing of things.
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Kate and Pat
Eliminated: Leg 2
Kate and Pat are this season's token homosexual team. They have been together for ten years. Kate is a 49, and is an Episcopal priest. Pat is 65, and is an ordained deacon. They are from thousand oaks CA. They both have kids from previous relationships, and are both well traveled.
Kate and Pat bored me last week, and got on my nerves this week. Neither one of them is physically fit, and even if they hadn't been eliminated this week, it would have been soon. I got really tired of them calling each other by pet names and kissing every few seconds. I'm happy that they're happy, but I still don't need to be clobbered over the head by it. I'm ok with them being the ones eliminated this week, and won't miss them now that they're gone.
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Ari and Staella
Eliminated: Leg 1
Ari and Staella (why must so many names be spelled oddly this season) describe themselves as best friends. He is 21, and is a waiter. She is 24, and is a restaurant manager from Fountain Valley, CA at the same restaurant where Ari works. Ari lives with Staella and her family. They claim to be carefree and out to have a good time. At the same time, they both like to speak their minds and aren't afraid to ruffle any feathers.
Typically, I think that friends as teams do well together. However, Ari and Staella showed from the start that they weren't very athletic. They lost some ground at each physical part of the race. They also had a world of trouble with their donkey, which was the nail in their coffin.
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Eileen is an intake operator for a legal referral service in Southwestern Ohio and spends her free time glued to the TV and practicing Yoga which she thought was going to be the "lazy woman's exercise". She welcomes your thoughts at ohiograndma2003@hotmail.com.
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