I don’t think there is anything wrong with commenting on how they seem happy. They might live in difficult circumstances, but that doesn’t mean they can’t be happy. And that tobacco warehouse was full of guys who seemed to be having a great time.
But Lawrence seemed like a real jerk.
I guess I grew up surrounded by feminists, but I’d be afraid to say, “You want to be careful about getting married without knowing how to sew,” when the woman I’m saying it to has a claw hammer within reach.
Hey they didn’t have time to negotiate and he did wait around for them to carry the beds to Phil and run back.
Cathi is definitely in helping to keep her team in the race though. As long as the task doesn’t require grace or balance she’ll soldier right through it!
I’ve never seen anyone fall as much as she does.
I was also very impressed with Cathi & Bill. Honestly, my lazy twenty-something ass would’ve had a hell of a time with most of the challenges this episode, so I really admire their level of fitness/work ethic. I can only hope to be so healthy at that age. And grace? Who needs it? Just ballerinas and bald eagles, I say.
Also, Cathi’s “it is very spacious” comment was awesome. I hope all farmers feel so strongly about vast expanses of land.
<Ted Knight in Caddyshack> Well? We’re waiting! <TKiC>
I thought of that; tip the bed on end, back up against the slats, then pick it up and lean forward a bit. Only problem was that most of the contestants had backpacks.
What’s with the undeserved snark? Robot Arm was commenting on how the workers in the tobacco warehouse were constantly singing & laughing.
Oh, I wasn’t being snarky at all. I thought he was commenting on the fact that someone (Cathi?) said that it was the happiest place on earth, despite the fact that it is a resource-starved area whose citizens are dying off faster than they can be replaced and the warehouse itself was a place of back-breaking work. I thought I was agreeing with Robot Arm. Sorry if I read that wrong.
Amen on Laurence. I thought maybe he was only a jerk to Zac, in one of those highly competitive father/son dynamics, but the first time he made a comment about the women doing the sewing task, my wife and I both looked at each other and asked, “Did he just say that?”
I can’t speak for the people of Malawi and their relative happiness, as I’ve never been there. I did, however, spend some time in Fiji, and I regularly describe them as the happiest people I’ve ever met. And not just the Fijians who worked at hotels and restaurants and resorts, where one might expect a certain amount of “put on a happy face for the white tourist.” I met any number who live in what can only be described as crushing poverty, and they were without exception cheerful, optimistic people. They smiled constantly, frequently sang for no obvious reason other than they felt like it, and were unfailingly warm and inviting. I saw a lot of the same in last night’s episode.
I don’t remember anyone on the show saying “happiest place on Earth”, and I wasn’t trying to contrast it with their living conditions or anything. I just thought they were into the Race more than anyone I’ve ever seen. I’ve been to parties, concerts, even amusement parks where people weren’t having as much fun as they were watching people roll bales of tobacco around a warehouse.
And lorene can snark on me any time she wants.
OK, so I failed…and yet didn’t fail…but still kind of failed. :o
I was thinking that these folks are likely to be getting paid more for one day of watching Americans do their job (badly) than they normally make in a month of back-breaking labor. No wonder they are happy.
(The first few contestants had to dodge workers, but then they took everyone else off the floor. A day off with pay is worth singing about.)
…
and this is different from Disney how? 
Sometimes I laugh at the dopiest things, today it was this. Right down to the italicized C.
Details matter.
Ha! I had the briefest flicker of that thought, immediately followed by the thought that even I think the idea is way over the top.
I do like the idea of frontloading the NELs. It keeps more teams on the show longer, which is a win-win for viewers.