I can't believe tomorrow is the 10th episode of The Amazing Race Season 26. And I'm even more shocked that I'm still in the race! Seriously, this entire journey has been a testament to my personal motto that I'm just an ordinary girl living extraordinary moments. And if I can do it, anyone can! Tune in tomorrow at 8pm on CBS to race with us to Peru!!!!
The Good
After finishing two legs in Namibia, I don't think anyone of us expected to go back to Europe. At the start of every leg, right before we rip open the destination envelope, Jelani would guess Antarctica (it think it's the only country my jetsetter teammate hadn't been to yet). Sorry JLA we're going to Amsterdam! The flight from Namibia to Amsterdam was long which is great when you're racing because that means sleep, free food, free booze, and free movies.
On all our long flights, Mike hooked me up with Motrin PM which never failed to knock me out. Jelani was a natural when it came to sleeping in airports. The moment we get on the plane, he's like peace out world.
Once in Amsterdam, we breezed past the klompen roadblock on our first try and had enough of a lead over the other teams to really enjoy our bike ride into the city. It was cold, windy, and snot was dripping down like waterfall but I loved every minute it! Exploring a new city on bike is simply the best way to do it.
The Bad
Roman skating rink? Five IIIIIs skating rink? Yeah, that was horrible! As lawyers, Jelani and I overanalyze. In fact, that's pretty much all we did on the show! In cars, in airports, in our hotels, and everywhere in between, we would analyze everything from the weather to strategy to what we're eating. We basically spent the entire month talking to each other. Even when we were frustrated or pissed off, we were discussing why we were upset. It's definitely a mutual trait that worked for us as we were able to work through differences pretty quickly. And that's probably why even now my heart smiles every time I think about him!
Another bad. As we were on a family friendly TV show, we couldn't fully enjoy the highs of being in Amsterdam.
Another bad. As we were on a family friendly TV show, we couldn't fully enjoy the highs of being in Amsterdam.
The Fab
This was the leg I finally let myself have some fun! I think winning the first two legs of the race put a lot of pressure on our team. Expectations heighten as you want to race well 24/7 when that doesn't happen, disappointment sets in. It definitely took a few legs for me to let go of the need to be perfect and to just soak in the experience. In Amsterdam, we made mistakes, didn't finish first, and got lost a few times, but I had a great time! Life is filled with uncertainties so all we can really do is just live in the moment.
