TAR: Torture Times

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Amazing Race
Having a Baby’s Gotta Be Easier Than This

I believe this episode brought new meaning to the phrase “Chinese Water Torture” for some teams or maybe just Chinese torture after the foot “massage” they received in the beginning of the leg.

Order teams left the pit stop:

  1. Kisha & Jen – 1:48 pm
  2. Tammy & Victor – 1:49 pm
  3. Margie & Luke – 1:50 pm
  4. Jamie & Cara – 2:12 pm

Clue: Teams had to fly to Beijing, China. Once there, they had to find their way to a foot massage spa to find their next clue.

Everyone got on the first flight at 5:10 pm. There was still some tension between the sisters and Margie & Luke since Margie & Luke were trying to buy tickets but the counter did not take international credit cards. The sisters heard that and headed over where they could purchase them. Margie thought it was rude that the sisters went to the counter first and didn’t keep the original order of the line. What? This isn’t grade school. They left a line and got into another one. Just because you took forever to get to the new counter, doesn’t mean you get to be first again. Victor and Tammy had an advantage by talking in Chinese to the counter people. They asked if they could sit as close as possible to the front of the plane. Kisha and Jen were asking the same question at another part of the counter. Tammy & Victor got the fifth row and the sisters were in the eighth. Tammy asked that if the other teams could be as far back as possible since it was a race.

Beijing, China

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The plane landed in 8:05 pm in Beijing with Tammy & Victor as the first ones off the plane. They got in their cab with no other teams around. When the cheerleaders were getting off the plane, they were complaining they were in the very last row. The last three teams had a hard time finding the cabs. When Luke saw them, he completely ran over Jen and Kisha to get to them. He needs to let go of the grudge.  While going to the clue, Tammy was hoping she didn’t have to massage anyone’s feet since she didn’t like feet. The karma of putting people in the back of the plane caught up to Tammy & Victor. The cheerleaders arrived to the massage place first since Tammy & Victor’s cab driver got lost. It was a road block.

Foot Massage

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Road Block: It asked which team member was feeling manipulative. The team member would have to get a foot massage. They would first drink a cup of Chinese medicinal tea.  Then they have to get a 10-minute therapeutic foot massage that could be painful at times. After the massage, the team member had to drink another cup of tea before getting the next clue. If the massage became too painful, the team member could stop the massage, but then they would have to start it over again when they were ready.

Cara decided to do it and was not thrilled when she found out it was a massage. She hated people touching her and her feet were super ticklish. She drank the tea, saying it was not the best tasting tea she ever had. The other teams were still driving around trying to find the massage place. The sisters showed up. Kisha decided to do it. Cara was crying from pain, but still going on with the massage. Kisha was biting something to keep from screaming. Victor & Tammy arrived.  Tammy decided to do it but was unsure when she saw the pain from the other women. Cara made the comment about thinking giving birth had to be easier. Tammy was trying to do some deep breathing to work through the pain. Then she said would rather be giving massages than doing that task. Jamie was yelling at Cara that she better not give up. Way to be supportive of your team mate! Cara told her to shut up. Margie & Luke arrived. She said she would do it, but Luke wanted to do it. When he sat down, Cara finished. She downed her tea as fast as she could. They got the next clue.

Clue: Teams had to make their way to Guangcai Natatorium, a Sports Technology School and find the marked path to their next clue.

Kisha finished up soon after Cara. They were both trying to find a cab driver that knew where the school was located while Luke and Tammy were still in pain. Tammy finished up and no one had found a cab yet. Luke finally finished and the sisters found a cab that knew where to go. The other teams kept running up and down the street trying to find a cab driver that knew where to go.  Tammy & Victor found a cab driver that knew where to go after they asked him in Chinese. Jamie & Cara pushed their way into the cab though saying they found it first. Tammy said she didn’t want to get into a fight with Jamie since she scared her, but didn’t like that they wouldn’t have known how to tell the cab driver where to go without Tammy saying it in Chinese. Jamie said that Tammy & Victor were sneaky. Is speaking in another language sneaky? Tammy & Victor did tell their driver when they found another cab to take them to the north door. They passed both the cheerleaders and sisters since neither of those teams were able to tell their drivers which door to go to. Tammy & Victor were the first to find the next clue, which was a detour.

Water Torture

Detour: In Sync, teams had to master the art of synchronized diving by jumping off the three-meter spring boards and hitting the water in perfect unison. Once they both hit the water feet first at the same time so that the judges gave them a score of 5, they would receive their next clue.  In Swim, team members had to complete a 400-meter relay with each team member doing 100 meters at a time before switching off for a total of 200 meters each in order to receive their next clue.

Tammy & Victor said they were not swimmers so they decided to go for the synchronized jumping. After putting on a Speedo, Victor said it was “skimpyland.” The sisters found the right entrance and the clue, while the cheerleaders were at some guard gate asking the poor guy if they were in the right place. He was telling them he couldn’t read their clue. He didn’t understand. The sisters also decided to do the jumping. Tammy & Victor were watching the professional divers do the jumping. They thought it looked easy after watching them jump twice on the board and then jump into the water.They got up there, started jumping at different times and Victor jumped off the board while Tammy was still up in the air from a previous jump. They got a 1 for their effort. They said they were horrible and Tammy commented on how she was uncoordinated . Jen was petrified while watching the the siblings. She was afraid of the water. Kisha asked if she wanted to switch to the other task that had flotation devices, but Jen wanted to try the jumping first. The siblings jumped again with a score of 2. They both were headed for the water at the same time, but Tammy hit way before Victor did. They asked if the sisters were ready to jump, but Jen said she wanted to watch one more time. Tammy was becoming frustrated after their third attempt where Victor once again jumped off before Tammy did. They got a score of 1. Victor reminded Tammy that it was better than the swimming.

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The cheerleaders had arrived and picked the swimming. They were trying to get the swimming suits on that Michael Phelps wore during the Olympics. They looked tight. Margie & Luke had arrived and also picked the swimming one. The sisters finally got the nerve to get on the diving boards. They were freaking out about how high it really was when they were up there. Jen was certain she was going to drown. Jen said she couldn’t do it. Kisha asked her if she wanted to switch. She did so they came back down off the diving boards. Tammy & Victor went up again to try again.

At the pool, Jamie was the first one in the pool. She was flopping around trying to do a freestyle stroke, but not really. Oh it is so much more effort when you don’t do the stroke correctly. I miss swimming. Cara said she was a pretty strong swimmer but she was going to get exhausted swimming the length of the pool. The sisters and Margie & Luke were trying to get into the crazy laser suits. It took Jamie over 2 minutes to finish her first part before Cara jumped in. Tammy &Victor were making another jump where Victor landed in first, but Tammy was at least closer to hitting the water at the same time. It earned them a score of 4. Cara finished up and Jamie belly flopped into the pool. Luke dived in first for his team. Luke was cruising. Jamie took a breather when she was on the other side of the pool before swimming back. Kisha was asking if anyone was going to teach her what to do before the guy yelled, “Go!” She held her nose and jumped in.  Luke finished up his first part doing a backstroke and Margie jumped in. Margie was almost to the other side when Jamie was finally heading back. Jen was freaking out about having to swim when Jamie touched the wall for the last time and Cara jumped in to finish up.

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Kisha was pausing in the middle of the pool resting on the lane dividers when Jen was saying she knew they should have done the other thing. She was the one that said they should switch! The siblings continued to jump, but they were not improving. They started to go down to 2 and 3 scores. Kisha was dragging herself along the lane divider and not really swimming. She talked about her muscular legs earlier. Do the breast stroke!  Jen was asking the guy outside the pool if she could swim any way and he responded with “Ok, ok, ok, ok” so he apparently couldn’t understand what she said. Margie finished up her first 100 meters and Luke jumped in. Margie was saying she couldn’t breathe with the suit on. Cara was taking a break at the other end. Jamie was yelling at her saying she didn’t hang out at the other end all day. I believe you did Jamie! We all just watched you! Kisha finally made it to one end. Now to go back to finish up the first 100 meters! Jen was telling Kisha they should do the other one. Jen hadn’t even tried it yet! Cara finished so the cheerleaders got the next clue first.

Clue: Teams had to make their way to the pit stop. They had to go to the North Gate of the Drum Tower.

The cheerleaders said they were going to the pit stop and they weren’t even changing. Luke finished off his last 100 meters and Margie jumped in. Kisha finally made it through her first 100 meters. Jen said they needed to switch. Kisha agreed. They started changing. Margie finished off her half and they were headed to the pit stop. The siblings were still jumping off the boards and not hitting the water at the same time. The sisters showed up and gave it a try. Jen actually jumped off! They got a score of 2. When it was time for the sisters to try again, Jen refused to go back up there. The siblings were stuck on how to get a 5. They had one jump that was super close, but it wasn’t a 5.  The sisters tried again and Jen started freaking out again when they didn’t get it. Tammy & Victor were trying to decide if they should switch. Kisha was telling Jen that no one was going to to let her drown. They tried it again, but didn’t get in at the same time. Tammy jumped into the pool first to start her first 100 meters.  After getting the scores, Jen said they were not going to get it. Victor cheered Tammy on to finishing her first part before he jumped in. Jen had a mental breakdown when Kisha asked her what she wanted to do–switch tasks or continue. She started crying saying she wanted to go home.

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Tammy was finishing up her final lap wondering if the sisters were still there. Victor said they were and also told Tammy she was doing great. He jumped in for the last lap. They said they should have done the swimming to begin with. They finished and got the pit stop clue. Kisha said she wanted to finish strong and convinced Jen to get back up. Kisha told her she could take a breather while they were getting the suits back on for the swimming task. Jen got her life vest on and did a belly flop into the pool. She was cruising. Kisha said she was going to wear a life vest too so her sister didn’t feel like the only one.  When Victor and Tammy got into the car, Victor couldn’t get in since his calf was cramping up. Kisha finished up and Jen jumped in for the last 100 meters. Victor finally got into the cab.  Jen finished up so they got their last clue and went to find a taxi to the pit stop.

Pit Stop

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The other teams were still heading to the pit stop and hoping their cabs knew where they were going. The cheerleaders got there first. They were so excited that they finished first since they had never finished first before. Phil had bad news for them though. He told them that the race was not over. He gave them their next clue.

Questions

  1. I forgot they do this sometimes. I believe they didn’t do it the last season or maybe even longer. Does anyone remember the last time they didn’t necessarily have a non-elimination leg, but just a leg that didn’t end at the end of the episode?
  2. Does anyone else think that even though the cheerleaders wanted to come in first place once, they didn’t because they are so rude to people that don’t speak English?
  3. Was anyone else amazed at how many people didn’t know how to swim? I guess I’m all messed up since I grew up swimming in Arizona. It was like second nature. Is the rest of the world just not good at it?
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