Amazing Race Tidbits -- Thoughts and Outlook

Amazing Race Tidbits

CBS' The Amazing Race 12th Edition

Thoughts on Episode 3 and Outlook for Episode 4

Thoughts on Episode Three

Airports Not In Play

All teams end up on same flight to Ouagadougou, the capital of Burkina Faso.

Teams had to take the morning train to Bingo, a whistle stop in the middle of nowhere.

Roadblock: Camel Milking

One team member had to milk a camel into a bowl, up to the designated line. After the same team member drank the milk, they both had to lead 4 camels along a marked path.

Episode Three Roadblock
Team	Team Member	Result
Kynt and Vyxsin	Vyxsin	Good
Jennifer and Nathan	Nathan	Took a second camel
Lorena and Jason	Lorena	The Meltdown -- she broke down when one camel failed to produce milk, and the second was mean, knocking her bowl over when she would give some milk.
Ronald and Christina	Christina	Good in milking, but Ron followed leaders on wrong pathj with camels the "long way to Tipperary"
Shana and Jennifer	Jennifer	Struggled through both the milking and leading the camels
Azaria and Hendekea	Azaria	Took second camel
Nicolas and Donald	Donald	Donald's farm experience put him in second place.
Marianna and Julia	Julia	Bad luck put her in next to last place, but helped Lorena find a good camel.
Rachel and TK	TK	First done in milking, but chose wrong path for the camels

Detour

Teach It. Each team had to teach a student 10 words in English and have him repeat those words from flash cards with pictures. It was harder to teach young student English. It usually took longer to do this task and it depended on someone outside the team to perform.

Learn It. Each team had to learn 10 words in the local language in one room, and then go to a testing room. This was easier for most teams, especially if they used systematic approach, and they themselves were in control.

It was ironic that these Detour choices were picked, as the UN Development Program Report places Burkina Faso as the most illiterate country in the world, according to Wikipedia.

Episode Three Detour
Members	Detour	Result
Kynt and Vyxsin	Learn It	Good enough
Jennifer and Nathan	Learn It	Just one snag, but good enough.
Lorena and Jason	Learn It	Just well enough, though stuck on one word in the test
Ronald and Christina	Teach It	Muddled through this harder Detour choice to end up fifth.
Shana and Jennifer	Teach It	Muddled through this harder Detour choice to end up seventh.
Azaria and Hendekea	Learn It	Systematic approach, dividing the list between them, grabbing the lead
Nicolas and Donald	Teach It	Muddled through this harder Detour choice to slip down to sixth.
Marianna & Julia	Learn It	Good, but not enough to gain time on Lorena and Jason
Rachel & TK	Teach It	Muddled through this harder Detour task to end up second after having quite a lead on Azaria & Hendekea.

Episode Three Order of Finish
Members	Team
Kynt and Vyxsin	4
Jennifer and Nathan	3
Ronald and Christina	5
Shana and Jennifer	7
Azaria and Hendekea	1
Lorena and Jason	8
Nicolas and Donald	6
Marianna and Julia	9
TK and Rachel	2

Outlook for Episode Four

The next episode features an African dance challenge, minus the energetic and vivacious dancers, Marianna and Julia. The hippies, TK and Rachel, the brother/sister team of Azaria and Hendekea, and the dating Goths, Kynt and Vyxsin appear to be strong teams, while the bickering Jen and Nathan are doing better. Ronald and Christina have a lot to work through in their relationship, and Ronald is not helpful to Christina. Can he survive the added problem of a hernia? The grandfather, Donald, was struggling with his physical limits, but the last episode gave him a new lease on life. Will Lorena and Jason be able to bounce back from The Meltdown?

What will Episode 4 reveal about the racers and who will be eliminated next. Watch Sunday, November 25 at 8PM Eastern/Pacific, or after 60 Minutes, if delayed by NFL football.