Author Topic: Amazing Race All-Stars Media/Library/News * maybe spoilers*  (Read 178032 times)

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Offline puddin

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Re: Amazing Race All-Stars Media/Library/News * maybe spoilers*
« Reply #250 on: April 10, 2007, 01:00:14 AM »
^^ Actually they were shocked at the Romber elim and said nice things about them.

INTERVIEW: Uchenna and Joyce Agu discuss their 'All-Stars' race

 
By Christopher Rocchio, 04/09/2007


Reality TV World:  Having never been eliminated from The Amazing Race before, what were your initial thoughts when host Phil Keoghan told you that you were eliminated from All-Stars?

Joyce:  Stunned... at first.  When he said it I was just kind of stunned because I kept waiting for him to say, "However..."  He just didn't say, "However." And then we he didn't say it you just think to yourself for a second, "Oh my God.  This is the end?"  I know for myself I was just speechless.
Uchenna:  The reality is the competition really came to a head right there.  We're used to seeing everybody else go out and... the realization that this wonderful journey is really over just hits hard.  The Amazing Race is the last great adventure.  In the old days, it was like a right of passage to do as much traveling as we did.  To really realize it was over was really a tough pill to swallow.

Reality TV World:  What made you decide to take the risk in Krakow and choose the flight with the tight connection?
Joyce:  We just think "no guts no glory."  We thought at some point and time, we just can't stay in the pack, especially getting closer to the end.  We kept thinking that since we were at the top it was an opportunity to take a chance...
Uchenna:  Extend the lead.  Knowing a Yield was coming -- or at least feeling that a Yield was coming -- and having been the only winners on [All-Stars], we figured teams would start to focus on doing whatever they can to push us aside.  We felt we had to make a move.

Reality TV World:  During our interview with them last week, Joe Baldassare and Bill Bartek told us that even after buying your first set of tickets, you can continue to buy as many tickets as you want, so why did you stay with the risky connection after finding out that the three of the other four remaining teams were all on the same flight that had a safer connection? 

Joyce:  Once we committed and jumped on the first flight that we got on, we were now sent in another direction, on another path.  We had already purchased a ticket to go to our next connection and that's where the guy was printing our connection tickets and when his printer broke.  We spent a lot of time with them trying to fix the printer and get things back on track because the tickets had already printed and it was crumpled up in the machine so we were trying to right the wrong and we were getting close to our connector flight taking off.  If we wouldn't have taken that connecting flight, we were thinking it would have taken a lot more time to go back out of the airport, in through customs, buy new tickets, and then try a whole nother route.  We thought we'll take the risk because the gentleman helping us with the tickets said, "I'll fix it when you get to your next connection.  The tickets will be sitting there waiting for you.  All you have to do is pick them up and get on the plane."  It did not work out that way.  When we got to the connecting area, they could not figure out all the notes.  They said it was going to take them a lot longer to figure it out, and at that point we tried buying every airline ticket imaginable and they had no seats available.

Reality TV World:  Just to clarify, this is the connection in Frankfurt you're talking about right?

Joyce:  Yeah.  It was the holiday season and it just seemed like everybody was flying and there were a lot of standby people so any availability was sucked up quickly.

Reality TV World:  So that's what caused the delay in Frankfurt that cost you the connecting flight to Malaysia?

Uchenna:  Exactly.  I'll tell you, the move would have been genius if it worked.  We're talking about a whole other race.  That hour-and-a-half opportunity to be ahead, turned into 10 hour slap in the face.

Reality TV World:  So that's how long you were stuck in Frankfurt, 10 hours?

Joyce:  Well that's how far back we were from the other teams.

Reality TV World:  Do you remember what time it was when you finally arrived in Malaysia?

Joyce:  We got there just before sunset.  About 7PM or 6PM.  The other teams, they must have gotten there around 10:30, 11 in the morning.

Reality TV World:  The editin made it look like you guys were so far behind when you got to Malaysia that you skipped the Detour and Roadblock and your first clue just said to go right to the Pit Stop, is that right?

Joyce:  No.

Reality TV World:  Oh.  So you did do the Roadblock and the Detour?

Joyce:  Yeah.  We were more surprised at what they didn't show.  They didn't even show us trying to catch up.  We thought the fact that they allowed us to do all the tasks was because we had the opportunity.  So we did everything...

Reality TV World:  So it built-up some false hope for you.

Joyce:  Yeah.  They didn't show it.
Uchenna:  Even though we knew we were going out, we didn't expect it to be put together that way.  I mean you saw us the first five minutes of the show, and the last three minutes of the show. 

Reality TV World:  Which Detour did you choose?  Did you eat the cookies?

Joyce:  We ate the cookies.  We found it quick in comparison to what it looked like the other teams were doing.  And I did the [Roadblock].

Reality TV World:  How far behind Ozwald Mendez and Danilo Jimenez were you?

Uchenna:  They didn't tell us.
Joyce:  No.  I haven't figured that out.  I'd like to know though.

Reality TV World:  Did you think your race was in trouble when you were too late to pick-up tickets at the stop over in Frankfurt at the beginning of the seventh leg?

Uchenna:  We knew we were going into a trouble zone, but our way of thinking doesn't allow us to go down a path that we don't want it to go.  So we really tried to stay positive so that energy would be somehow answered.
Joyce:  On our last race -- even though some of the odds seemed insurmountable for us -- we still managed to make it through, and make it through first.  So we like to keep hope alive all the time.

Reality TV World:  Joyce do you think your experience with the piano was key in helping you overcome the deficit you two incurred in Frankfurt?

Joyce:  You know I played the piano when I went to Catholic school many, many years ago.  And the one thing that stood out in my mind was the hand placement, you always start with middle C.  Who would ever think that information would ever be useful again in life?  It's funny, that's where it started and it just turned out that it was quick.  I was happy about it.

Reality TV World:  Uchenna how confident were you that you counted the correct number of steps during the eighth leg's Fast Forward?

Uchenna:  Oh man, that's actually quite a funny story.  We counted it all out and actually had three different numbers.  The one that was closest to mine was Danny and Ozwald's.  So I actually... it was a gift.
Joyce:  [Uchenna] was probably 10 steps off, but the numbers were...
Uchenna:  Exactly the same.
Joyce:  ...but 10 off.  So [Uchenna] went with the one that had the same ending. 
Uchenna:  I tripped I think on one of the stairs.  "Was that 20 or was that 30?" 

Reality TV World:  How was it working with Ozzy and Danny?

Joyce:  It was great.  Those guys are so much fun.  They're funny and they're such gentlemen.  It was a great experience.  We vibe.  Our energies are the same.  Just positive.
Uchenna:  Positive energy.

Reality TV World:  Were you surprised they gave you the prize at the eighth leg's Pit Stop?

Uchenna:  We were thinking of doing "Rocks, Paper, Scissors" all the way up to the mat, and then they just go, "You have it."
Joyce:  They also said they had won a spectacular trip earlier and because they were from beach cities, they didn't want to go to a beach trip.  And they said they were going to take a gamble.  We were trying to debate how's the fairest way to do it, and they said "If it's a beach trip, we're not going to be sorry we gave it away." And it turned out it was.

Reality TV World:  Knowing you were "marked for elimination" following the race's fifth leg, were you confident at the beginning of the sixth leg that you'd be able to overcome the penalty?

Joyce:  For me, that was the scariest point because I thought we'd be okay.  Thirty minutes... we could make that up.  But when we had so much difficulty trying to get out of Africa, it just seemed like that 30 minute delay was definitely going to be the death of us.  But who knew that we would manage to get on a flight that the others couldn't get on for another day or so.  It was amazing that happened for us... but that was scary.
Uchenna:  And the dhows [leading to the sixth leg's Detour] were big.  We did make a 30 minute jump on the beauty queens I might add.  That was actually pretty gratifying.  I think that was the point where they started to look at us more as a factor.
Joyce:  It was shocking [we still finished the sixth leg third despite being "marked for elimination"].

Reality TV World:  Uchenna what was it like jumping with the Maasai following the sixth leg's Roadblock?

Uchenna:  I always watched National Geographic movies... and I love seeing those type of things.  You always wonder what it's like to be in the presence of such a majestic tribe.  My family's from Nigeria.  However when we did that, I wasn't in the race anymore.  I was taken away.  I was here with these people just jumping with them and you could see in their faces how much I was really enjoy being with them, and then they got more into it and the sounds they were making... their hums and different sounds they make.  It just resonates through your body.  That's what makes The Amazing Race so special.  You're not on a tour bus.  You're really in there with the people.

Reality TV World:  Since it seemed to lead to your being "marked for elimination," what made you decide to try "Porter" instead of "Pamper" at the fifth leg's Detour?

Joyce:  Our game on [The Amazing Race 7] was do all the physical tasks because those are the ones you can control.  Painting nails... I was just thinking that everything that sounds easy is never that easy.  Also we thought painting nails and doing it for money in a country where it didn't seem like people could spare much, it didn't seem to be an easy chore.  Definitely we chose the harder task not knowing.

Reality TV World:  How did you become so lost when trying to deliver the coal?

Uchenna:  That was one of those moments when we really were not... You know how you have to follow you instinct?  We were going in the right direction and just suddenly lost faith.  It's funny because we couldn't get locals to help us at that point and time.  You know how the kids kind of led [Eric Sanchez and Danielle Turner]... they helped Danny and Ozzy.  We kind of finished the task while one or the other of them was getting help.  It just didn't work out.

Reality TV World:  Uchenna -- prior to Rob and Amber Mariano's elimination from All-Stars, how was it that you were able to meet Charla Baklayan Faddoul and Mirna Hindoyan at the fourth leg's Pit Stop to greet them?

Uchenna:  We kind of forced that issue a little bit to see who was going to make it.  Because we knew it was down to one envelope... and Rob had been arguing with Mirna so it was really like, "Wow.  This is down to the wire."  And we could hear the others coming...  We just had to be there to see what happened.  That was the one rematch, and we really expected to be running against Rob and Amber again at the finish of [All-Stars].

Reality TV World:  That leads perfectly into my next question.  What was your initial reaction when your old rivals were eliminated?

Joyce:  For me it was a combination.  At first I was excited but then afterwards strangely enough I was kind of sad because I thought, "Oh no!  Those guys really make it interesting."  I was glad they were gone though because they were kicking our butts.
Uchenna:  There's a kinship even though you want to compete against the best competitors.  It was a kinship having The Amazing Race 7 be represented by two [teams].  I really didn't expect it to be a factor until we got down to the wire... I really wanted to have a footrace at the end.  Us against Rob and Amber.  If we can figure out a way to have another competition of some sort... I think it would be interesting.

Reality TV World:  I'm sure Rob and Amber would probably be up for that too if you asked them.

Joyce:  Rob still wants his opportunity to be first.

Reality TV World:  How did it feel when Rob took the note the stewardess wrote for you on the flight to Punta Arenas at the beginning of the fourth leg?

Uchenna:  That was interesting because he saw me going in and out of the stewardess' area, and as soon as I sat down, he went in to see what he could find out.  I mean he's a smart guy.  No other teams even thought about trying that.  And I mean the flight attendants are nice, two people are asking for the same information.  It was one of those things where of all the players, I expected Rob to do that.  So it was like, "Man!"  I wasn't surprised and I thought, "You got one in.  You get this one..." I love the competition with Rob.

Reality TV World:  We saw what the "Sign It" Detour challenge did to Rob and Amber.  Considering you also tried it and correctly completed it, what do you think was so difficult about the challenge?

Joyce:  I don't even think Rob and Amber finished!?  I know for me, just the shape of the world, once you open it up and it's flattened... that was one thing I didn't even consider that west was in a whole different position.  That was our problem from the beginning.
Uchenna:  Finally it just dawned on me, "We're not getting this right.  Where did Magellan come from?  He did not come from Guam, which was the one place that was farthest east on the map."  Between the two of us, we kind of knuckle-headed it through... I guess the best thing about it was at least we spelled all the words right.
Joyce:  We knew how to spell!

Reality TV World:  Joyce you seemed to have all sorts of problems in the boardroom at All-Stars first Roadblock.  What was it about the challenge that was so difficult and Uchenna was it aggravating for you to watch your wife struggle as your lead quickly evaporated?

Joyce:  What you didn't see was they gave you a piece of paper and said, "Go in the boardroom and you'll find all the answers you need.  Don't talk to people sitting around the table."  And I'm going around the room trying to figure out what it is we needed.  Of course everybody's looking at the pictures.  Everybody's looking at the initials and the monograms everywhere.  The only thing I wasn't looking at -- and maybe nobody looked at it and just took chances -- but I didn't look at the "Q" that one guy was scribbling on a piece of paper.  I thought he was just scribbling or doodling, which he was for the most part, but there was a "Q" he had on the paper that turned out to be totally related to the answer.  All the names of the quarries had some of the initials, and the one that was the answer had a "Q" in it.  And I thought, "Boy.  I didn't see any Q's."  But it finally dawned on me... of course much later on.
Uchenna:  My perspective on that was purely, "We got here first, let's leave halfway through.  That's cool."  But every team [passed us]... that just drove me nuts. I was aggravated.  I was beside myself because I couldn't see in the room.  I couldn't figure out what the heck is so difficult in there?
Joyce:  And I'm too literal so I was really taking it the wrong way.

Reality TV World:  Seeing as how you were the only previous The Amazing Race winners to compete in All-Stars, did you think you had an advantage?

Joyce:  Definitely no advantage going in.  I would say it was a disadvantage if anything because instantly people assume that you've already had your opportunity and you don't deserve another one.  But I think that everybody has the same opportunities and if you are allowed to have a miracle happen twice in your life, you know why not?  I don't think it helped us.  What do you think?
Uchenna:  No it didn't help us.  I think... it didn't help us at all.

Reality TV World:  Again, seeing as how you had already won The Amazing Race before, what prompted you to join All-Stars?

Uchenna:  The desire to travel.  If somebody's going to offer you the chance of a lifetime twice, not too many people are going to walk away from that opportunity.  The traveling, the experience, there's so many moments now that we'll carry with us for the rest of our lives that will actually almost bring us to tears because of this race.  We always tell people, "The win is being chosen to have a one in 11 chance at one-million bucks..."
Joyce:  And we said that before we won the $1 million [from The Amazing Race 7] too by the way.
Uchenna:  The $1 million is great.  It's the icing.  The win is having the opportunity.
Joyce:  And you know we have so many parallels to the race and our lives -- just learning to step out of your rut, do something different, take chances, live life boldly -- just all those things that really we've applied to our lives and we're finding that we're having a better life than we did when we were not taking chances.  Going back on the race again just adds to our life experience.
Uchenna:  To reiterate the point, you have to live boldly.

Reality TV World:  Was there anybody who you were surprised to see/not see?

Joyce:  Yeah... we were pretty sure that [The Amazing Race 5 runner-ups Colin Guinn and Christie Woods] were going to be there.
Uchenna:  We figured [The Amazing Race 4 Ringling Brothers circus clowns Jon Weiss and Al Rios] were going to be there.
Joyce:  It would have been nice to have [The Amazing Race 5 winner Chip and Kim McAllister], but I don't know if they would... There's so many good teams.  On this one, some of the teams that were there were some of my favorites.  Some of them I didn't remember, but a lot of them were my all-time favorite teams.

Reality TV World:  I think you might have already answered this question before, but who did you consider your biggest competition?  Was it Rob and Amber?

Joyce:  I think from the beginning we thought our biggest competition was The Guidos.

Reality TV World:  Interesting.  Is there a reason why?

Joyce:  The Guidos were the original Rob and Amber.  They were the original sneaky guys, and they're very manipulative, they're well-traveled, they've been around the world, they speak many languages... they know the in's and out's of airports around the world and they're fast and they're extremely competitive.
Uchenna:  They don't need any other teams.  They're probably one of the few teams that could actually go through the race without being in the pack.
Joyce:  We just thought they were the ones to fear most.

Reality TV World:  Are Charla and Mirna as annoying as they look on television and many of the other teams have been telling us?

Uchenna:  Annoying is the word.  There's so many -- especially now that we're able to see more of what they're saying -- and it's like, "Oh my goodness.  We're playing this straight.  We're playing this fair.  We're being honest."  The very next scene you see them taking cuts in line.  "Help me! Help me!"  We saw them do some things, pulling "the little person card."  Hey, it's a game.  You do what you can to survive.  It worked, they're still in and we're not...
Joyce:  They're just loud about it.
Uchenna:  It's annoying.  I think... I don't know.  It's annoying. I mean we all wish we could pull-out whatever card we needed to stay in...
Joyce:  I wish we would have pulled one out.

Reality TV World:  Do you think competing again in The Amazing Race strengthened your relationship?

Joyce:  No, you know going on The Amazing Race for us helps us be on the same team.  I know it sounds strange being that we are married, but when we have a common enemy, we know how to play for the same pot.  When we're at home and we have no other enemies except each other.  And it's strange, you fight about the little things, and the bickering and the things that get on your nerves...
Uchenna:  Everyday relationship stuff.  The race has given us a glimpse of what our relationship can be.  And now it's about is doing the work to getting there.

Reality TV World:  How are things going now?  Any news about starting a family?

Uchenna:  We're working on it.  It's interesting you ask that, a lot of people have been asking the same question about the family, about the relationship.  What we've done, we've been talked into documenting our last in vitro [fertilization] which is coming up soon and also documenting the work they're doing to sure-up our relationship.  It's very difficult doing this.
Joyce:  If in vitro doesn't work, we are planning on adopting but we're trying to keep all of our friends and fans in-touch or updated as far as what's going on with us.

Reality TV World:  Good luck with that.  Is the original $1 million spent already?

Joyce:  You know what... the original $1 million we paid taxes, we paid bills, we put some into those empty 401Ks that we lost with the companies we worked for.  So basically it's gone, but we're still trying to hold onto a little more security for our future and trying to build on that.
Uchenna:  And to round-up the question before about how we're keeping in-touch with friends and fans who are interested in the outcome of the two things were shooting, we have a website uchennaandjoyce.com.  It's a registration site we're you just put your name and your email address, and when those are ready we send out an email letting everyone know what it is and what it looks like.  The it goes forward.  Our goal is to have two million people register.


RTVW

Offline puddin

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Re: Amazing Race All-Stars Media/Library/News * maybe spoilers*
« Reply #251 on: April 10, 2007, 02:35:25 PM »
tvguide magazine 4/16-22




Offline michael

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Re: Amazing Race All-Stars Media/Library/News * maybe spoilers*
« Reply #252 on: April 10, 2007, 02:50:00 PM »
what a nice picture of our F3 we have there  :happy:

Offline Slowhatch

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Re: Amazing Race All-Stars Media/Library/News * maybe spoilers*
« Reply #253 on: April 10, 2007, 02:58:03 PM »
Thanks, Puddin. Here's a page about Armenians and the evil eye. If her charm is to prevent the evil eye (not to cause it  :lol:) then it might look something like this.

[attachment deleted by admin]

Offline puddin

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Re: Amazing Race All-Stars Media/Library/News * maybe spoilers*
« Reply #254 on: April 10, 2007, 03:28:37 PM »
what a nice picture of our F3 we have there  :happy:
Thanks, Puddin. Here's a page about Armenians and the evil eye. If her charm is to prevent the evil eye (not to cause it  :lol:) then it might look something like this.
I didn't even think of that Michael, lol.
And bet the evil eye is how C/M puts curse's on the teams :sera:! Mess with them and your PHILIMINATED! God help the BQ'S  :lol:!!


Offline michael

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Re: Amazing Race All-Stars Media/Library/News * maybe spoilers*
« Reply #255 on: April 10, 2007, 03:32:21 PM »
LOL, i wish I had an evil eye to curse people with....*glares at BQ haters*

Offline georgiapeach

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Re: Amazing Race All-Stars Media/Library/News * maybe spoilers*
« Reply #256 on: April 10, 2007, 03:58:11 PM »
Good pickup Michael! I didn't think of that either.

Maybe we better loan that to Izad--didn't Eric give him the "Evil Eye" last week?
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Re: Amazing Race All-Stars Media/Library/News * maybe spoilers*
« Reply #257 on: April 10, 2007, 07:30:54 PM »
Hey this Mr.Midnight72 is doing All-Stars episodes  :ninja

 http://www.gofish.com/my/userProfile.gfp?gfid=26-120255

Offline puddin

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Re: Amazing Race All-Stars Media/Library/News * maybe spoilers*
« Reply #258 on: April 10, 2007, 08:50:05 PM »
“Everyone Should Live Life Boldly” – An Interview with The Amazing Race’s Uchenna & Joyce
by Teeuwynn Woodruff -- 04/10/2007

 
Uchenna & Joyce were one of the most popular racing teams both on their first race and on All-Stars. What do they have to say about their Philiminating decision to go for the earlier flight, what really caused them to miss the connecting flight, how did they rank themselves as competitors, and what are their thoughts on having children and the future? Read on to find out!

RealityNewsOnline: Hi Guys! Thanks for talking to RealityNewsOnline!

Uchenna & Joyce: Hello!

RNO: How did you feel when you found out you were going to be on All-Stars?

Joyce: Elation!

Uchenna: Yeah, we were overjoyed at the prospect of having another great American adventure.

Joyce: Yeah, you forget about all the pains and stress after it’s been a while. Of course, the next day you start rethinking your decision and go, “wait a minute! I forgot about this pain!” I’m glad we did it. I wouldn’t miss that opportunity.

RNO: Did you do anything to prepare for the race?

Uchenna: Definitely in better shape. We tried to learn a little more Spanish.

Joyce laughs.

Uchenna: A big part of it for me… Joyce coached me on the players that were strong in other races. Of course, we didn’t know who was going to be in it until we got there at the start. But she coached me on many of the majors and I think she was right about 70% of the people who ended up competing against us.

Joyce: But I think that in this kind of a competition it’s really hard to prepare. It’s more mental than anything. You don’t necessarily have to be in good shape, or speak a language, or have traveled around the world. They do things that you’d never imagine.

RNO: Certainly the race has shown that people who are in the best shape do not necessarily win.

Joyce: Absolutely. It doesn’t mean a thing. You could be in your 70s like Gretchen and Meredith and do well. They weren’t fast [but did well].

Uchenna: Or be a total stud like John Vito and go out first. That guy was a horse, man!

Joyce: It doesn’t make a difference. It’s really hard to prepare. You just have to be open-minded and just ready for whatever they put in your way. Just lose all your barriers of control.

RNO: Did anything you learned on your first race cause you to make any changes on All-Stars?

Joyce: You know, considering that we won the first one, we were thinking we had a pretty good strategy and we should stick to it. But, of course, this time we had different players with different mindsets. They were not new to any of this, so the playing field was a lot different.

Uchenna: I really thought that our strategy was working. The teams, if you noticed, really didn’t say a whole lot about us. We were under the radar. The reason for making the move that we did [on our final show], was the fact that there were only five teams left and the focus was going to end up being on us. So we thought that we better try to make an effort to be ahead as much as possible with the Yield coming.

RNO: Was the possibility of the Yield the reason that you decided to take that big risk, instead of sticking with the pack in the airport this past leg?

Joyce: No. We just decided that it was getting to the end of the race and a lot of strong teams and we were constantly coming in at the middle to the end of the pack. We thought it was time to make our move and it was a decision we made to do it. We knew it was going to be tight, but we were trying to be so on top of it that you would never imagine that a printer was going to break and that would be your downfall.

RNO: Is that what happened?

Joyce: We went to get our tickets for our connecting flight [while we were still at an earlier airport] and our printer jammed. And the tickets were inside the printer. The guy called over people to help and he was like, “You’re not going to make your connection so why don’t you go ahead and go. What I’m going to do is personally call, make sure they have your tickets there when you land. All you have to do is pick them up and just keep going. Easy as pie.” We thought we were being so careful. Famous last words. We get there and these other people are like, “we can’t reissue tickets that have been issued.” And the flights were all fully booked.

They didn’t know how to print – reprint – tickets that were already printed. The tickets did get jammed in a machine. It could almost be a story, their word against ours. And the guy might have talked to someone, but we never found the person he talked to.

Uchenna: The Munich airport’s really big.

RNO: That’s painful.

Joyce: Yeah, tell me about it! It was so painful. We tried to go to every airline; we spent hours trying to find a way out of there.

RNO: How long did it take there at the airport?

Joyce: We were almost 10 hours behind everybody. It took us maybe five hours to just go through the airport to just try to beg and plead and find a different path, but by the time we did find another flight we weren’t going to get in until… just many hours later. It was horrible. Every hour that ticked by your spirits are dying. It was a holiday period and a lot of flight options weren’t available. They had a lot of standbys.

RNO: So, when you got to the first clue box in Kuala Lumpur and it said to just go to the Pit Stop, did you know it was over at that point?

Uchenna: That actually –

Joyce: That didn’t happen. We did all of those tasks. We were pretty surprised that they didn’t show us trying. We ate the cookies.

Uchenna: It took about an hour.

Joyce: An hour of eating hundreds of boxes of cookies. You just can’t imagine how long that feels. And then I did the newspapers in the neighborhood, even though it was dark.

RNO: That must have been tough!

Joyce: It was.

Uchenna: It was. The fact that they were allowing us to do all of the tasks gave us just enough hope to keep pushing on. In hindsight, looking at how long it took us to do the tasks, if we had been with the pack, you wouldn’t be talking to us today.

Joyce: We would have still been in it. You know, really in hindsight, we didn’t have to take that risk. But if you don’t take risks at some point in time, you just always get the status quo positioning. We just thought it was time to do it.

RNO: You thought that if your flight worked out you would be the first team in, but it turned out that Charla & Mirna got in even earlier. How did Charla & Mirna find a better flight than anyone else – again?

Joyce: Yeah. Who knew that? They are able to garner a little assistance. They always say, “Help this little girl!” I don’t know. We were impressed when we saw it because we didn’t know it until we saw it on TV ourselves. That would have been shocking.

Uchenna: They were not our favorite team, but you can’t really throw rocks. They beat us.

RNO: They are good with the airports.

Joyce: They are good there. They’re good at making things work for them – which is what you need.

RNO: How do you feel you worked together as a team in this race compared to the first race?

Uchenna: I think there were periods where we worked really well as a team. I think, getting closer to our “demise,” the wheels started to fall off. Our down time wasn’t spent as productively as it could have been.

Joyce: I think that generally the race, the first one, just forced us to be – well, we just knew that our enemies were not each other. We worked really well under that pressure. At home it’s easier to just get off at each other, but in this race we know still that the others are the enemy. And if you have issues among yourselves, that’s time wasted. There were times when we got distracted and fell into our old habits at home. That could have been a cause of our demise as well. We weren’t always as focused as we should have been.

RNO: It looks like you didn’t get to go to Elimination Station – where did the producers put you up?

Joyce: Yeah, we did not.

Uchenna: [They put us up in] local hotels.

Joyce: We stayed with the production. We stayed sequestered with them, wherever they went. We went where the other teams went. We were just sequestered.


RNO: What was your favorite task on the race?

Joyce: Um… I would say… You know what turned out to be really fun? The whitewater rafting. It was a blast. It was one of the scarier things we had to do. Most of the tasks were more mental, but the whitewater rafting this time around was a higher degree – a level four or five – and being as we were novices, that was frightening. I mean you could fall out, you could be under all those waves.

Uchenna: There were six foot waves out there.

Joyce: We were bouncing down, seeing the bottom and being way up at the top thinking we were going to crash at any second. It was really exciting. But you had a favorite, right Uchenna?

Uchenna: Task-wise, doing the Maasai throwing Roadblock. That was incredible.

Joyce: Yeah, we loved that.

Uchenna: Being with the Maasai and, of course doing the task. I wish I could have taken one of those hammer things [rungu] with me.

Joyce: Being with the Maasai, seeing how they dress… It just looked like something out of National Geographic. I know I’ve seen them on that, but having them there, live, doing all of the things you’ve seen on TV. It was awesome.

RNO: How about your least favorite?

Joyce: Yeah, the coal.

RNO: And that, of course, led to your being marked for elimination.

Joyce: That didn’t help either. That was horrible! It was dirty and we got cut.

Uchenna: We got a newfound respect for what David of Dave & Mary does [coal mining].

Joyce: We had to do it with our bare hands. At least they get protective gear. We didn’t have any. It was horrible. Painting nails? Who would have known that would be as simple as it turned out to be. I thought it would be harder because I thought that most people wouldn’t be able to give up extra money to get their nails painted.

RNO: Then it turned out you only had to get about two people to pay.

Joyce: You only had to do a couple people and it took them a couple of minutes! Whereas the coal took us a couple of hours. If only we heard Phil explaining it to us. We just don’t get that benefit.

RNO: So, was that the hardest thing you had to do on the race or was it something else?

Joyce: I think also the whitewater rafting was one of the hardest things to. We did attempt rock climbing [at that Detour], although they didn’t show anyone doing that. We only got a foot off of the ground. Uchenna tried it and said it was impossible.

Uchenna: Absolutely!

Joyce: But nobody could do it, so maybe it was. Rob & Amber tried, I think Eric & Danielle tried, and nobody finished that. So, I would say that was hard. Also, back to the coal, that was crazy.

RNO: Do any locations you visited on the race stand out to you as either really wonderful or really horrible?

Joyce: Really wonderful was Punta Arenas for me – in Patagonia in the mountains. It was absolutely beautiful. The mountains were white-peaked and the lakes were just glassy. But the whole area was very pristine with beautiful homes. It just looked like heaven. It was really gorgeous.

Uchenna: My favorite place was the dhow ride from Tanzania to Zanzibar.

Joyce: That was not a fun ride for me. Ten hours!

Uchenna: There’s a history that goes with that trip. It actually struck a chord with me, looking at the whole slave trade and that was the gateway. It was really important to me. Running through the city of Zanzibar… I mean it seems like we’ve sailed the seven seas now, having done this trip twice.

Joyce: We should be pirates!

Uchenna: It’s priceless being on this great American adventure. Now the show’s been franchised to some other countries, but it is one of those all-American adventures that we wish that all Americans who wanted to could have that opportunity.

RNO: Were there any teams you either expected to be in the race or really wanted to be on the race, but weren’t?

Joyce: We definitely expected Rob & Amber to be there, but we also expected Colin & Christie to be there. I was really surprised they weren’t there. We were surprised the Clowns, Jon & Al, weren’t there. We thought they’d be there.

Uchenna: We also thought there was a chance Lynn & Alex from our race would be there. I believe, as far as older couples go, that Meredith & Gretchen would have been a high vote. But I’m not sure… I think he had some surgery, heart surgery or something.

Joyce: It would have been cool if they were there.

Uchenna: For the most part, we really expected to see more winners there.

RNO: You were the only pair of winners on the race.

Joyce: That was surprising!

Uchenna: It painted a target on our backs, right away.

RNO: You were also facing your old nemeses, Rob & Amber, from the first race.

Joyce: We expected that they would be there because they are definitely great competitors and they bring a whole different game playing to the whole arena. But it is fun to compete against them even though they haven’t won yet. I’m sure they would have loved to have won this one – just like us.

RNO: I believe Rob picked you guys to win after his team left the race.

Joyce: Ah! That was surprising, though.

Uchenna: The mistake we made really changed the climate of the whole race. To be honest with you, we expected a foot race again. We expected it to come down to us, Rob & Amber, and someone else for the final three – possibly the Guidos.

RNO: There is a lot of luck in the race.

Joyce: There is a lot. A lot of luck. It just wasn’t our time, which is fine. We accept the inevitable and what was to be because we don’t feel that there are any mistakes. Even though things happened the way that it did, even though the printer never jams at the airport!

Uchenna: A million tickets a day and the one time we’re there it does.

Joyce: That was a sign to me. I just accepted my fate. Even though it’s hard. I have to think there’s a bigger lesson to be learned, a bigger picture.

RNO: Speaking of bigger pictures, has running The Amazing Race changed your relationship in any way?

Joyce: You know, I wouldn’t say it’s changed our relationship other than when we are on the race, usually we are… we really work well together under pressure when we have a common enemy. After the race, we go back to normal. We go back to my world or his world. We’re back to our little control area. One of the lessons we should take from the race is that we never have any control. That’s hard to swallow. We really don’t have any control. We learned from the race that just being open to positive possibilities and letting go of control that all kinds of things can happen that are really miraculous. When we are trying to control things, boy, we just get what we can’t control as an outcome as well. Anyway, it changes our relationship because when we’re on [the race] we do well together. But it doesn’t change our relationship because when we’re back to reality and then it [doesn’t]. I think we need to be racing all the time!

RNO: There are areas in life where people don’t always have control over. After you won your season, you used some of your money to try IVF. Do you have any plans to have children now?

Joyce: Yeah, you know just before we were going to go on the race this time we were getting ready to do in vitro, to give it another shot. We decided to put it on hold until after the race was over. Now that we’re back, we’re definitely back at it. Whether it works out that way, or adoption, that’s what we’re going to do. We want to keep everyone posted and keep in touch because that’s usually the first question everyone asks, “Do you have a baby yet?”

RNO: I’m sure people are wishing all the best for you guys as far as that goes.

Joyce: Yeah, we want to be able to share with everyone. We do have a website where we want everyone to go and leave their e-mails for us. What we’re going to do is just send it out to everyone when we’re starting to work on the baby thing and the relationship thing.

Uchenna: The web site is www.uchennaandjoyce.com. Basically, we’ve been convinced to videotape the process of in vitro –

Joyce: Well, much of it. Not all of it!

Uchenna: …and we’re also videotaping the process of working on our relationship. The race gave us a look… it was a crystal ball into what our relationship can be. But it’s really up to us to do the work to get there. We’ve been convinced to tape that process as well. That will be pretty much the meat of the site once it’s launched. But right now we have a page there for everyone to leave their e-mail addresses right now.

RNO: I’m sure there will be a lot of people interested in that and in your journey with IVF. A lot of people go through that these days and want to learn more about it.

Joyce: After being spokespersons for Resolve, we learned that 7.2 million Americans suffer with [infertility]. They say it’s the last closeted sexual disease. A lot of people are still afraid to talk about it. You think it just happens naturally, and you don’t think that it will ever be a problem.

RNO: And it’s such an emotional issue for people.

Joyce: And it is an emotional issue.

Uchenna: Yes.

Joyce: You feel like there’s something wrong with you if you can’t do this.

Uchenna: It’s been difficult filming this process.

RNO: It must be very emotional for you, talking about your relationship and children.

Uchenna: It’s really personal.

Joyce: It’s personal.

Uchenna: We’re hoping that it touches people who not only have the curiosity, but there’s a lot of people who relate to us on those specific issues. It’s sort of an avenue to see someone else going through it. It helps take the pressure off. Once we told everyone that we want to have a baby, everyone asks. We just added a ton of pressure to a situation that already has a bunch of pressure.

Joyce: “Are you guys getting to it? Down to business?”

RNO: I think it’s brave to express that to other people. Also, the way you appeared on the race, you showed a lot of bravery, a lot of character, and a lot of joy, which I thought was great to see.

Joyce: Thank you.

Uchenna: Thank you very much. We plan on living our lives that way. I think a lot of people need that example… a role model or whatever. A lot of people come up to us and say we appreciate you showing that side instead of just the meaner side [of some racers].

RNO: And hopefully some day you’ll be showing the race to your children.

Joyce: Yeah. That’s the plan. We’re still going to learn the right way as we go along, but we’re hoping to share with others.

RNO: Is there anything else you’d like to tell us about yourselves or your experience on the race?

Joyce: Just that everyone has the same opportunities on everything that’s possible in life. If they want to go on The Amazing Race or do their own amazing race in their own lives, we totally encourage it because everyone should live life boldly – not from the fear that you could fail. It could turn out like it did for us on the first race, you could win in life – not just the race. So, we would like to totally encourage people to be bold.

RNO: Thank you so much for talking to me today.

Joyce: Thank you.

Uchenna: No worries. Any time.

« Last Edit: April 10, 2007, 08:53:14 PM by puddin »

Offline georgiapeach

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Re: Amazing Race All-Stars Media/Library/News * maybe spoilers*
« Reply #259 on: April 14, 2007, 12:11:30 AM »
From an interview with just eliminated Survivor Michelle:

 
Can you tell us a little bit about how you found yourself on Survivor?  Were you a fan of the show beforehand?

Well, I was a fan of the show and I'm always on the hunt for new experiences and adventures and it actually started when me and my sister applied to be on The Amazing Race.  And after interview after interview, before I knew it I found myself on Survivor instead.  It was a much more challenging experience than I had first anticipated, but well worth it.
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Offline michael

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Re: Amazing Race All-Stars Media/Library/News * maybe spoilers*
« Reply #260 on: April 14, 2007, 12:13:05 AM »
After michelle fell a couple of episodes ago I fell in love with her LOL, I wish she stayed! I wonder how she would have been on TAR.

I CAN'T WAIT TO SEE THE CAST OF TAR12!

Offline georgiapeach

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Re: Amazing Race All-Stars Media/Library/News * maybe spoilers*
« Reply #261 on: April 14, 2007, 12:16:05 AM »
From your mouth to the ears of TPTB!

Please please let there be another one or twenty!
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Offline michael

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Re: Amazing Race All-Stars Media/Library/News * maybe spoilers*
« Reply #262 on: April 14, 2007, 12:18:10 AM »
From your mouth to the ears of TPTB!

Please please let there be another one or twenty!

I have faith. It's to good of a show to let go. I'm hoping TAR12 is a lot like TAR10...I really, really enjoyed that season..I think it had my faveourite course out of all the seasons.

Offline georgiapeach

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Re: Amazing Race All-Stars Media/Library/News * maybe spoilers*
« Reply #263 on: April 14, 2007, 12:19:37 AM »
Nope--I'm a season 5 girl! Bowling Moms!
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Re: Amazing Race All-Stars Media/Library/News * maybe spoilers*
« Reply #264 on: April 14, 2007, 12:21:03 AM »
ha ha, I would take the bowling moms in TAR10 over every team other then D/K and Rob and Kim...if they weren't there the tomato challenge fiasco might never have happened!

<3 Bowling moms..

I'm a sucker for good F/F teams! YOU AND PUDDIN SHOULD GO!

Offline reality.tv.

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Re: Amazing Race All-Stars Media/Library/News * maybe spoilers*
« Reply #265 on: April 14, 2007, 12:05:23 PM »
From an interview with just eliminated Survivor Michelle:

 
Can you tell us a little bit about how you found yourself on Survivor?  Were you a fan of the show beforehand?

Well, I was a fan of the show and I'm always on the hunt for new experiences and adventures and it actually started when me and my sister applied to be on The Amazing Race.  And after interview after interview, before I knew it I found myself on Survivor instead.  It was a much more challenging experience than I had first anticipated, but well worth it.


I would love to see her on there with her sister.... or Yau Man! that would be awsome
I just hope she dosnt go crazy with reality televison like Romber
BB10 RENNY FAN FOREVER!

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Re: Amazing Race All-Stars Media/Library/News * maybe spoilers*
« Reply #266 on: April 16, 2007, 11:20:10 AM »
Bye everybody. 

My comments regarding U/J & adoption were deleted (i believe).

It would be "conventional wisdom" from anyone who has adopted (or is familiar with adoption) that U/J would NOT be good candidates for adoption.  Evidently someone here disagrees (or believes my post is somewhat controversial).

Different strokes i guess....I believe that adopting (& parenting) is a privlidge & a responsibility....not a right.  If these thoughts are deemed wrong, I will find another board to contribute on. 

 :kogsey



   

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Re: Amazing Race All-Stars Media/Library/News * maybe spoilers*
« Reply #267 on: April 16, 2007, 12:20:36 PM »
hound, your comments on Uchenna & Joyce offended me and I felt they were uncalled for but did not comment on it, but when your post was reported to me more than once as offensive by other members as well as non- members I removed it.
Sorry if you feel that is a reason to leave the forum.

puddin

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Re: Amazing Race All-Stars Media/Library/News * maybe spoilers*
« Reply #268 on: April 19, 2007, 04:28:08 PM »
hound, your comments on Uchenna & Joyce offended me and I felt they were uncalled for but did not comment on it, but when your post was reported to me more than once as offensive by other members as well as non- members I removed it.
Sorry if you feel that is a reason to leave the forum.

puddin

puddin,

i didn't mean to offend you or your members (i am sorry that i did).  But I am disappointed in U/J's comments above.  My perspective is that:

- I will be walking my 25 y/o daughter down the aisle this fall.  I married her mother 20 years ago.  I am not her birth father, but she has called me Dad for 19 years.
- I will be coaching my 8 y/o son's baseball game tomorrow.  He was born in S. Korea & is not my birth son. I am his Dad.  I am his "real Dad".  And he is my son.  (He is cute, sweet, & has increased the average IQ of our immediate family by at least a dozen points.) 

When discussing adoption, folks should remember that 3 years ago (when U/J first won a million bucks) there were hundreds of thousands of children worldwide who would love to have been adopted by a mommy & daddy.  Today....there are hundreds of thousands of children worldwide who would love to be adopted by a mommy & daddy (or mommy & mommy... whatever... as long as it's a good home).

U/J are discussing IVF (a website devoted to their IVF) & then maybe adoption.  They also have discussed acting careers, possibly having problems in their marriage & being "looked up to" (by viewers).

puddin, you have a great website with members (& detectives) who rock.  Thanks for letting me share why (i feel) adoption is a blessing. 

hound
« Last Edit: April 19, 2007, 04:43:13 PM by hound 109 »

Offline georgiapeach

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Re: Amazing Race All-Stars Media/Library/News * maybe spoilers*
« Reply #269 on: April 20, 2007, 08:53:04 AM »
Those of us who have an adoptive child in our lives know very well the joy and the happiness that they bring to our hearts every single day. We are truly, truly blessed. And with that joy often comes a passionate and sometimes outspoken concern for those children around the world in need of a home, and a sense of protectiveness towards those children.

I wish Uchenna and Joyce the very best in their search for parenthood, and hope that they will come to know that joy and happiness in their own lives.

Hound, it is easy to see the love you feel for your children. I am sure that you are as much of a blessing in their lives as they are in yours. Thank you for sharing your story with us.

One of the things that is so special about this forum is the way that despite our different backgrounds, opinions, ages, and team favorites, we all work so well together in pursuing our spoiler quest. Who knew that one very special TV show would bring so many of us together in a very special community? I am proud to know you all, and thank you all for the fun and joy you bring to my life.

And now back to our regular programming--see you in the Episode thread!

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Offline michael

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Re: Amazing Race All-Stars Media/Library/News * maybe spoilers*
« Reply #270 on: April 20, 2007, 09:40:39 AM »
 :hearts:

Quote
I am proud to know you all, and thank you all for the fun and joy you bring to my life.

Me too Peach! Talking with you guys is a lot of fun.  :ninja Especially on Sunday nights, right before TAR starts and the exitement is even higher! *looks forward to it*

There should be a "tell your story" thread here
« Last Edit: April 20, 2007, 10:04:48 AM by Michael D »

Offline hound 109

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Re: Amazing Race All-Stars Media/Library/News * maybe spoilers*
« Reply #271 on: April 20, 2007, 10:11:53 AM »
... And with that joy often comes a passionate and sometimes outspoken ....
OUTSPOKEN??  ME?? :pickle:


And now back to our regular programming--see you in the Episode thread!   :happy:


Good idea.....i'll try not to  :badhorse:


Thanks for all of your nice thoughts, peach... i appreciate your posts very much.   :hrt:

Offline georgiapeach

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Re: Amazing Race All-Stars Media/Library/News * maybe spoilers*
« Reply #272 on: April 20, 2007, 10:17:03 AM »
Awww shucks guys!   :-[  :kissy:

So...back to Ep 11--Detour or Roadblock first? See you over there!
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Offline puddin

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Re: Amazing Race All-Stars Media/Library/News * maybe spoilers*
« Reply #273 on: April 25, 2007, 08:17:47 PM »
Hows that Michael?  :waves:

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Re: Amazing Race All-Stars Media/Library/News * maybe spoilers*
« Reply #274 on: April 25, 2007, 08:18:44 PM »
Thank you so much Puddin! Now I just need to go photo shop out those bad tans LOL