I vacilated as well, but finally decided I would have done the learn task, if only because I wouldn’t want to risk everything on a little kid. However eager they would be, they wouldn’t be driven by $1 million. But the kids were cute, and I thought both challenges were pretty cool.
Yes, stroking a boy camel in the manner of the which-blonde-is-that? may result in a fluid similar to but quite distinct from milk.
Thus violating basic strategy rule #1: When you are one of the last two teams to finish a challenge, DO NOT in any way help the other team finish their task!
May I say how much I love Gramps? He calmly does the camel-milking and runs all over Africa with no problem, after staying up half the night dancing with the cute girls. Go, Gramps!
Another fun episode. The mispronunciations were entertaining, as was Lorena’s Flo-like meltdown. And even Flo didn’t melt down this early in her race, even though she was the queen of meltdowns!
Just when I was thinking that, against my better judgment, I was beginning to like the blonds, they go and spout Ugly Americanisms. Oh well, I think it’s easier to hate them anyway, and it’s not like they’ve given me plenty of material.
I have heard parents say things like “When you make that sound, I can’t understand you.” Apparently, no one ever said that to Lorena. Is she 3?
Good episode, good challenges. We haven’t seen a non-airport bunching, yet, have we? Hopefully, that will continue.
Am I the only one who thinks Azaria and Hedekea call each other “baby” much too often to be brother and sister?
I think the last time I called my sister baby was… ya know, I don’t think I’ve EVER called my sister baby. It’s weird.
And Kent can’t be killed fast enough. Can we just dump Ronald and make Christine and Vixen the all-girl team everyone wants to see?
Thank goodness, Ron’s hernia distracted him from making fun of his daughter in this episode.
Too bad about Mariana & Julia. 
(What’s up with the hot, Latino sister teams? They always seem to go out early!)
(And I can’t believe Donald said, “I’m gonna let it all hang out in this race.” Umm, yeah Grampa, we know already…)
A camel taking a shit was pretty high on my list of “Things I Don’t Really Need to See”. Thanks, producers.
Be quiet, you. 
Except for the gratuitious bad spelling, which drives me completely camelshit crazy, Kynt and Vyxsin are my people. They remind me of the days before the Internet and snark, when I was what would now be called “an emo kid,” and I dyed my hair purple with Kool-Aid and listened to The Cure for six years.
Dear Sir or Madam, where can I sign up to purchase your product? I need one of these in the worst possible way. Kthxbai! rockle.
This is totally true, but seriously, did they even look at their surroundings? They were in the middle of nowhere with nothing around but a bunch of camels. Somewhere in the back of their vestigial lizard brains it had to register that perhaps, just maybe, the camels might be involved, since there were so damn many of them hanging around.
Oh, and because we haven’t mentioned it yet: Phil looked fantastic last night. I love it when the Costume Department dresses him in pants that actually fit properly.
Note to self: pronunciation is hard, especially when it involves capitals of foreign countries. Plus: I love having yet another task this season whose outcome depends on how you treat animals.
Taxi Assessment
Stuck in the Desert and Officially Detained - or, Philiminated with extreme prejudice.
Ari & Staella and Kate & Pat - Gone, but not forgotten. Or gone, at least.
Marianna & Julia (down from “Stopping”) - Last week, I called Marianna & Julia “a team to watch.” I was thinking “…because they might break out competitively,” not “…because they might break down competitively.” But hey, I sort-of called it. This team didn’t do anything a lot wrong, but a bunch of little mistakes cost them. The whole episode came down to time management at the end, and Marianna & Julia just didn’t do well. Poor performance at the Roadblock was their biggest problem, but offering a suggestion to Lorena didn’t help. (TAR Rule #1: if you’re in second-to-last place, never help out the last place team.) Nor did their slow pace between the Roadblock and Detour help. Not enough hustle, not enough time, so long Marianna & Julia.
Flat Tire - or, not likely to get anywhere soon.
Ronald & Christina (holding steady) - Ronald was less of a dick this episode, which I guess is good, but the hernia development (from holding all that criticism in, I guess) is probably not a good sign. The first heavy-lifting task will be painful to watch. This team is still the winner in the “most likely to be eliminated” voting.
Stopping for Gas - or, not broken-down, exactly, but not a good sign.
Nicolas & Donald (holding steady) - Hum. A disadvantage of blindly following other people is that they might be lost, too. Not the best decision in the world. Still, Grandpa did great on the Roadblock, without even having to resort to stripping to his skivvies, and this team essentially tied for second place.
Lorena & Jason (down from “Passing”) - Last week, I idly wondered what Lorena was bringing to this team. As it turns out, she’s bringing all the hysterics and nervous breakdowns, and none of the competence. Next week is going to be critical for her: if Lorena can recover some self-confidence, the team might go farther. If she doesn’t, they’re in for a world of trouble. This week, though, they stave off disaster with the last-minute hustle that Marianna & Julia didn’t have.
"Rapido! Por Favor?" - or, making meaningless ineffectual comments from the back seat, but in no immediate danger.
Shana & Jennifer (down from “Passing Lane”) - This team is starting to get stressed out by the pace of the Race and the locations they’re moving through. Another team for which the next episode will be critical.
Jennifer & Nathan (up from “Stopping”) - Almost a brilliant move hustling to get on the earlier flight to Paris. It came to naught, but the point was they tried it, which is a good sign. (Although I think it was a good attempt this time, getting on another flight to save 40 minutes could backfire–what if it had been their plane with mechanical problems?) In any case, this team now has two top-three finishes in a row, which is also good. However, I’m still a little bearish on this team, remembering the status of their “pre-existing relationship,” so I’m moving them up only one notch.
In the Passing Lane - or, ahead of the pack, but not quite comfortably.
Kynt & Vyxsin (holding steady) - Not a lot of airtime this week, but a solid performance, and no real mistakes.
Rachel & TK (up from “Rapido!”) - I like this team’s calmness; they don’t get stressed out over minor things and that generally helps them. TK rather successfully communicated his calm to the camel, and headed out in first place. They got a little lost on the way to the Detour (and again on the way to the Pit Stop…), and that’s disappointing, but it’s soon corrected.
Cruisin’ with Earl - or, drivin’ on the shoulder, takin’ shortcuts, and generally kickin’ butt.
Azaria & Hendekea (up from “Rapido!”) - I expected this team to come roaring back this week from a middle-of-the-pack finish last week, and did they ever. Brilliant performance at the Detour, divvying up the flashcards and memorizing them in a heartbeat. And Azaria & Hendekea avoid the random wandering that plagued a few other teams (Rachel & TK, I’m looking at you…). They smoke the teams in front of them and wind up in first place, despite a mediocre Detour. That’s two out of three first place finishes, enough to move Azaria & Hendekea all the way up to “Cruisin’” status.
Next week: More Africa, methinks, and…drama? Is it real or manufactured? Tune in and find out!
[sub]Props to Mullinator and his Raj Ratings.[/sub]
I’m not sure, but I suspect he was joking–I think Kent & Vixen have this “I’m a girly-man, and you’re a manly-girl” in-joke they amuse themselves with.
And that’s the key to the Amazing Race: for all but the last leg, the key isn’t winning, it’s not losing. A fine point, perhaps, but one that teams need to rememeber when they consider an action that’s risky timewise.
My wife opted for “Teach,” thinking that the kids would be primed to learn new words, and would be able to do it faster. I opted for “Learn,” because I wouldn’t want to accidentally get the slowest learner in the class. However, since it turns out that you only have to learn ten words as a team (and thus five words apiece, as Azaria & Hendekea did), then “Learn” is clearly the best option.
Well yes, but there were sheep hanging around last week to be eyeballed nervously so trying to guess the task from the surroundings doesn’t always quite work, is all I’m sayin’.
So when are we gonna start seeing some of the U-Turns and whatnot that somebody posted about a few weeks ago?
Cracked me up when the blond was jackin’ it like it was Saturday night at the sorority house. She probably figured “heh, this’ll be easy. Five minutes and I’ll be outta here.”
You mean the one where we can actually tell the two partners apart?
Aw, I like Kaeiousometimesynt. I was fully prepared to loathe both him and Vyxsin because the whole goth poser thing is such a turn-off for me, but they’ve been quite entertaining and competent Racers and I’ll be sorry to see them go. Which, since I like them, is inevitable.
True, but in Amsterdam there were other things going on – it’s not like there was nothing but sheep around. Not so much in Bingo. Although I see your point.
Nah, they’re from New Orleans. After living there for a few years, I still find it strange not to be constantly addressed by terms of endearment left and right from total strangers and friends alike. That’s just What’s Done there. These two don’t give off incest vibes like TAR2’s Blake and Paige did, that’s for sure.
Someone on another forum suggested that perhaps some of her formative years were spent as a fluffer. Hee!
Not just the pants – that white shirt was fine on him. And his hair all spikey and wet? Oh, my. <fans self> I don’t know what it is about Phil, but he gets better looking every Race.
I see. Well, ignorance fought I guess.
Still, that trip they won sounds like it would be pretty romantic. I wouldn’t want to be there with my sister, that’s for sure.
Oh, I had almost forgotten. It was really disheartening that many people tried to sneak spanish words to see if the locals would understand them. “Foreign” is not a language. Foreigners speak different languages depending on where they come from.