Amazing Race

I enjoy watching Amazing Race. I remember watching it weekly with others at the Nehers' house in Wilmore. In fact, there have been several t.v. parties over the years (Survivor, Lost, Amazing Race) and the hosts have always been incredibly gracious.

I have loved the exposure to lots of different countries. My only problem has been how the participants act. Many times they are completely culturally inappropriate: loud, rude, self-absorbed, and dishonoring of important historical landmarks. I still mostly enjoy the show.

My favorite show brings the participants to Hungary. The task is for one team member each to eat this HUGE bowl of Hungarian goulash. The bowl is bigger than anything I've ever seen and the goulash is spicy HOT. (When looking at a Budapest travel site, it says that goulash's consistency is in between a soup and a stew. It has the consistency of a sauce.) To the viewer, it looked like the participants were eating tomato soup.

Except that because it is SO hot, its hard to eat fast. And its starting to make people gag because it is that hot! And there is a loud Hungarian band playing something akin to polka music next to the participants and its making them MAD. If I remember correctly, I think one of the team members wanted to punch out one of band members. Its obviously a miserable experience.

I don't think that I have a gag reflex when I see others gag, but then Amazing Race starts showing short, quick clips of people gagging, with sounds that give me the willies just thinking about it.

So then one of the participants vomits and tries to miss the bowl of goulash he is eating, but doesn't. So he throws up into the bowl of soup. And contest rules mean they must continue to eat the throw-up soup until the end. So he brings the first spoonful over the top of the bowl and the consistency is something like melted cheese with vomit hanging down from the spoon into the bowl.

I almost lost it. By far my favorite Amazing Race moment.