The Amazing Race > The Racers
♥♥♥ TAR14: Christie Volkmer & Jodi Wincheski - Co workers
DerekCL:
Amazing Race's Christie and Jodi Talk Taxis, Thongs and Tight Finishes
Southwest Airlines flight attendants Christie Volkmer and Jodi Wincheski made their last trip around the Amazing Race globe Sunday, becoming the fifth team to be axed this season. Saved from elimination last week, the duo fell behind early in India and their extra Speed Bump task certainly didn't help matters. Find out exactly how close they were to making it to Thailand, how they kept their cool and what it was really like running in Russia in a thong.
TVGuide.com: What happened after you left he airport? You were second to leave and then you stopped for gas.
Jodi: We had a taxi driver that took us, once again, 30 minutes in the wrong direction. We went toward Pushkar and our driver insisted even though we said Dhula Village, but he thought for sure we were going to Pushkar. That was the big thing. The gas [we had to stop for] was just the icing on the cake!
TVGuide.com: Had you considered getting a new cab or were there none around?
Jodi: You just can't because they take you to such remote areas that there are no cabs. You can't switch because there's nothing out there. I mean, there's a camel. [Laughs]
TVGuide.com: You guys seemed to have bad luck traveling. You rocked at the tasks and then all these other factors did you in. How did you keep calm?
Christie: Thank you! We were proud of ourselves about the tasks.
Jodi: You just have to know that you don't have a choice. Getting all upset and angry doesn't do anything for your team. It just gets you more upset and angry. And it doesn't do any good to yell at your cab driver or anyone else because he's not doing it on purpose. He's just trying to help.
Christie: We get it on the plane a lot [as flight attendants]. We get a lot of attitude. We're like, "Listen, we're trying to help you. Don't scream at me."
TVGuide.com: How long did the Speed Bump take you?
Jodi: Maybe a good 30 minutes because traffic was really bad. By the time we finished the Roadblock, we were probably a couple minutes behind. The Speed Bump just took up another 30, so we were like, "Dang it!" Luckily, it took Mike and Mark quite some time with their barrel Detour, but when it was all said and done, we hit the mat two minutes after Mike and Mark. That was pretty hard.
TVGuide.com: What happened at the end? They showed you leaving your Detour before Mike and Mark left theirs.
Jodi: We had the fantastic cab driver! But also, they were about a mile and a half closer. I was pretty upset. I was trying to come up with everything in my power to make up time on the tasks. [At the Roadblock] I grabbed two buckets for the water, carried them [back to the trough] and they said I could only dump one.
Christie: It was frustrating because if you could stuff hay down your bra and carry it, I don't know why you couldn't carry two buckets.
TVGuide.com: Christie, we have to talk about you running in your underwear last week.
Jodi: The clue said "strip down to your skivvies" and that's what Christie did. Several other teams changed into their swimsuit bottoms. It didn't say you could change! So I'm very proud of her for doing that.
Christie: I got a lot of friend requests on Facebook the next day. I was so cold that I forgot I was running in my thong. By the end of it, it's a G-string because it's moved! [Laughs] It was uncomfortable and I was freezing and there wasn't much I could do, especially with the cameramen on me.
TVGuide.com: Well, they were behind you too.
Christie: Oh, I know! Coming up the stairs into the auditorium, one of the guys said, "I think I saw your grandchildren." [Laughs] I was like, "I know, I don't care anymore!"
TVGuide.com: Did you get a lot of cat calls?
Christie: It was crazy. People yelling, screaming and whistling. Camera phones were out. That was OK. The worst part was passing these women that were 55 and 60 and looking at me like, "You little slut," you know? [Laughs] That was the hard part — like I actually chose to go do that!
TVGuide.com: Did you have any alliances with any teams?
Christie: No, we tried to work a few times with Tammy and Victor just when we saw them. But we didn't form an alliance because there's a lot of commitment attached to it.
Jodi: Part of the whole race was for us to be able to accomplish it on our own. And we don't know these people. Just because somebody says something to be true, we don't know that's the case.
TVGuide.com: Did you find that a lot of people lied to you or lied to other teams?
Christie: I don't know if anyone lied to our face, but there was a general consensus that Jaime and Cara were telling people that we were saying not to work with them — which never happened. But we've cleared that up since the Race.
TVGuide.com: Who were you cheering for after you got eliminated?
Jodi: Kisha and Jennifer or Mike and Mel.
Christie: Obviously, we want a girl team to win, and Jennifer and Kisha were such good sports that were always telling us during tasks, "Good job, ladies." We didn't really get that camaraderie with Jaime and Cara that we got with them.
Jodi: They're strong, but they're classy. Also, I just really love Mike and Mel because they were positive all the time. Mel was one of the people I trusted most in the Race because I knew that he wasn't going to lie to me.
Christie: I've had so many people call me and tell me they're pulling for those two. My mom's 68, which is Mel's age, so I was really impressed with him. And to see Mike so worried about his dad — I just really appreciated that relationship.
http://www.tvguide.com/News/Amazing-Races-Christie-1004316.aspx?rss=keywords&partnerid=imdb&profileid=01
georgiapeach:
Oh Christie and Jodi!! :kuss:
That was an amazing heroic comeback attempt! To do the whole leg, suffer with a bad taxi driver, throw in a Speedbump, and STILL finish only minutes behind just shows what amazing racers you two ladies are!! :hearts:
We loved your spirit and are so sorry to see y'all go!!
georgiapeach:
Exit Interview:
‘The Amazing Race 14′: Christie and Jodi are heading home
The day after their elimination from the sixth lap of “The Amazing Race 14,” flight attendants Christie Volkmer (left), 37, and Jodi Wincheski, 40, chatted about their experience on the CBS series and how painting a trunk of an elephant in India helped them recover from some rough days in the competition.
Q: I really thought you were going to avoid elimination last night.
Christie: It was hard to watch. Even though we knew what was going to happen, it was really painful to watch. My entire family was here. I wouldn’t tell them when and anything would happen.
Jodi: We [lost] by two minutes.
Q: Jodi, last evening you kept talking about your daughter and how running “The Amazing Race” would show her that she can do anything in life. How old is she?
Jodi: My daughter is 11. She was sitting next to me on the couch, and she started crying, and I started crying. We were a big mess of tears. But it is good to watch it with her, and it’s a really good experience with her.
Q: I would have loved to be able to do that Speed Bump where you got to paint the elephant.
Christie: I love animals. I have a parrot, rabbit and dogs — so to be able to get that close up to an elephant and touch it. It was so nice to be that close up and look him right in the eyes.
Jodi: He was moving his trunk around.
Christie: Animals are very therapeutic, and we had such a tough time the last couple of days so to be able to pet the animal was therapeutic for me.
Q: Did you two have a favorite location?
Jodi: I think every place was really pretty. I think every place you go has something cool to take away from it. I was really glad that we went to Russia and India because those are places I probably wouldn’t go on a vacation. So it was amazing to see them and to get thrown into the culture. When you do the race, you don’t have a choice but to really interact with local people, which is really different when you go on vacation.
Christie: India was probably my favorite simply because it was so opposite from our life here as far as the culture and the living arrangements and lifestyles.
Q: Christie, I have to ask you what that was like for you to do that running in your thong underwear and bra in the subzero temperatures in Siberia.
Christie: It was actually fun. At first, it was very intimidating. But once you step out there and you are freezing, you forget that you are embarrassed because you are so cold. The day after, I had [a lot of] requests on Facebook to be friends — all men.
– Susan King, L.A. Times staff writer
http://travel.latimes.com/daily-deal-blog/index.php/the-amazing-race-14--4289/
TARAsia Fan:
The fact that their cab driver took them 30 minutes in the wrong direction and stopped for gas and they still were just two minutes behind Mark & Michael shows me how much they rocked the tasks. They were tremendous. Plus Christie looks great in a thong. ;D ;D
georgiapeach:
Exit Interview:
The Amazing Race 14'
Tuesday, March 24, 2009
Jodi and Christie fell on some hard luck early on in The Amazing Race 14 and never really recovered. They fought their way through a number of close finishes and were saved by a non-elimination leg, but, ultimately, it was a speed bump that sealed their fate, as they were eliminated from The Amazing Race on Sunday, finishing their leg in India mere minutes behind the penultimate duo of Mark and Michael. Christie and Jodi, both flight attendants, met years ago and have been best friends ever since. Christie is recently married, and perhaps the more optimistic member of the team, while Jodi is a recently divorced single mother. We had the honor of speaking with the two ladies earlier this morning about their time on The Amazing Race and what it's meant to them.
Below you will find the full mp3 audio of the interview. (Go to article to listen. Interesting tidbit about them getting business seats reclassified to economy on this past leg)
Jodi and Christie had a great time on the race, by all accounts, but they did stress just how rigorous the race is. You don't get much sleep, the traveling can be absolutely brutal (on Sunday's show for instance, the teams flew from Siberia to India, connecting twice along the way, and this immensely long flight was portrayed in about six seconds of television), and the emotional wear and tear catches up with you. Jodi especially stressed this emotional toll, as she dearly missed her family while away on the race. In terms of editing, Jodi and Christie wished CBS had shown more of their strategic work from early in the season, especailly one instance of shrewd airline negotiations, which they discuss in the above interview.
The biggest thing the ladies took away from the race (and what I imagine most teams take away) is the sense of perspective you receive after spanning the globe. The small annoyances in life dwindle away, and you come to realize that the big things are what's important. Not only that, but the race helps people become thankful for the lives they get to lead. As for the future, Jodi and Christie are back at work as flight attendants, and enjoying their lives with their families.
http://www.buddytv.com/articles/the-amazing-race/exclusive-interview-jodi-and-c-27201.aspx
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