Jan 1 2008
Teams were instructed to fly to Mumbai (formerly Bombay) in India.
Self-Aware Moment #1
For all their faults, Nathan/Jennifer (adulterous dating duo) showed some surprising self-awareness when they confessed that their interactions with each other can be 'embarrassing and disgusting,' Declaring that their relationship was on the 'up' they seemed to have declared a truce between themselves.
Work in Progress
Ronald, racing with daughter Christina, remarked that he was happy to be in Florence, birthplace of the Renaissance, and remarked that he hoped it was the 'renaissance' of himself as a new man - one that would make his daughter proud. We must say, while some progress has been made, there has been some setbacks too.
Vagaries of Air Travel
If you have had problems with air travel this holiday season, perhaps it might be a small comfort to know that airlines all over the world have problems with scheduling as well, and it's often a matter of luck when your flight arrives/departs. Consider for instance that Nicolas/Donald (grandson/grandfather), Nathan/Jennifer and Ronald/Christina were all on the first flight out, while Kynt/Vyxsin (dating Goths) was on the last flight out, and yet, Kynt/Vyxsin arrived in Mumbai first, while the 'pack' arrived second. Meanwhile, TK/Rachel were on the second flight out, but the last flight in by several hours.
Times of India
The different flight arrival times were negated when teams were told that they must purchase the newspaper, 'Times of India,' at a newsstand that didn't open until 6 am. Teams then scoured the paper until they found an ad telling them where to retrieve their next clue. Nathan/Jennifer struggled to find the clue and their short lived truce quickly unraveled as a result.
Thread It or Paste It
The Detour required teams to either thread a garland of 100 flowers, or to paste a movie poster to the side of a building. The movie poster had six panels that must be pasted together accurately to make the poster look 'right,' while the garland must be strung together according to a set pattern. Both tasks required accuracy and precision.
Slowing Down with Yoga
The Speed Bump turned out to be performing a series of yoga poses with a yoga master. Kynt/Vyxsin completed the task with little problem, and were back in the race not too far behind the rest of the others.
The Not-so-Renaissance Man
Ronald reverted to old behavior (again) when he had trouble with the poster task. When Christina tried to fix the poster so that it would align properly, he started berating her. And then when the judge repeatedly refused to grant them a 'pass' because the poster was not aligned, he started yelling at the judge, which we thought was a completely stupid thing to do, because as Christina so wisely pointed out, they were screwed if they 'pissed off the judge.' In the end, Christina ended up redoing the entire task by herself, and acing it. There's a lesson to be learned there, Ronald.
Sexism and Hostility
Another team that was reverting to old behavior was Nathan/Jennifer, who were fighting for survival due to wasting so much time searching for the clue in the newspaper. While performing the garland task, they reverted to their hostile bickering, with bits of sexism sprinkled in, such as when Nathan told Jennifer that 'every girl sews every day' and he didn't understand why she wasn't doing better with threading the flowers.
