This week, the Race left England and headed to the Motherland, specifically Ghana, West Africa and the city of Accra. That's not pronounced like Akron, but Ah-CRAH.
The dating hairdresser and the Notre Dame grad are the first to leave. Despite his chi-chi education, he's not sure where Accra is. "I believe it's in Africa," he says.
The doctors tell us a little more about themselves with the blonde doctor, perpetuating blonde stereotypes by describing herself as the dinghy floating next to her ocean liner friend.
The home shopping hosts get their clue, but aren't sure how to get to the airport. The blonde decides to get directions from an English man in a tractor, adding a kiss as incentive. She touts this, the kissing, as a legitimate technique for The Race. Her partner promise more to come. We're not sure if she means more kissing or more than kissing which would make things really interesting.
The daughter in the father & daughter team can't wait to get to Accra so she can see African babies. Angelina Jolie and Madonna, your work is done!
As it turns out, the home shopping host wasted a kiss; there's only one flight to Ghana and all the teams are on it.
The son of the father & son team reveals that he has doubts about his dad as a partner. Apparently, his dad is best used for mocking on the Internet.
In Ghana, teams get in cabs, and when they're stopped in traffic, beggars come to the window. Some teams resist and give nothing, others feel bad and give a little. The Ivy League a cappella singer are terrified, give nothing, and then claim the beggar spit on them. How do they handle it? By singing to the cabbie to drive faster. Just as predicted, the singing has now reached annoying.
At Kwame Nkrumah memorial park, the teams get a clue that sends them to Makola market. The tattoo couple get the clue first; it's a road block that requires one team member to sell sunglasses at the market. They must make $15 cedis (which is $10 American), and they can't sell for less than $3 cedis each.
The home shopping hosts are stoked; they sell all the time. Blondie jumps right in with her personalized approach to sales, coming thisclose to being offensive by telling one Ghanian man who tries the glasses on that he looks like a rapper and a gangster.
The dad of the father & son team has his own approach: begging.
The blonde home shopping host tells the next customer that he looks like a supermodel and then adds a kiss. The PDA doesn't work for everyone. When one of the dating guys tries to woo a customer with a hug, he gets a look that's the Ghanian equivalent of "hell to the no."
The home shopping hosts finish first, get the clue and head to Peace Motor Spare Parts. The dad of the father & son team is second; his hater son is pleasantly surprised. A nice moment: the hairdresser doesn't sell one man a pair of sunglasses because it has a scratch. Money is tight, she reasons, and so she wants him to have a nice pair. Her educated boyfriend chastises her for thinking of other people. Notre Dame, by the way, is a Catholic university.
The next clue is a detour. Tune In involves going to an electrical supply store, getting an antenna to put on a home, placing said antenna on the roof and getting a clear picture on the TV to the homeowner's satisfaction to get the clue. Check Out involves going to a wood shop and transporting an unusual coffin on a cart to the coffin show room.
Inexplicably, several of the teams choose Tune In. The home shopping hosts are among them. Still, they quickly get the antenna up, proclaiming the glories of girl power (naturally they choose the pink tools), get the reception to work, and get the clue to head to another market, which is the next pit stop.
At the pit stop, there seems to be a foot race between the home shopping hosts and the beach volleyballers. But actually, the home shopping hosts have it. They win a 10-day trip to Hawaii. The non-blonde says teams have probably looked at them and thought 'look at those cute girls, they're high maintenance' as a way of dismissing them, a nice bit of salesmanship to get us to call her cute. Not buying.
The father & son do Tune In too, and once again, after the dad does a good job, the son remarks that he can now begin to value his father as a teammate. I'm sure the man to whom he owes his life is relieved.
The a cappella singers go for Tune In, and when it doesn't work out, switch to the coffins. They apologize to the family they've now left without a working antenna, one turning to a little boy for a high five. The little boy gives him a look that is the Ghanian equivalent of "I got your high five!"
It's down to the singers, the doctors, daughter & father, and bio mom & daughter for the bottom positions. They are all in cabs with the doctors pulling up the rear. But they have a crazy cabbie willing to create a third lane through the bumper-to-bumper Accra traffic. The singers' cabbie does the same. It's scary driving; the singers speak of soiling themselves, which seems completely possible. Both teams get to the pit stop, ahead of bio mom & daughter and daughter & father.
Daughter of daughter & father is the type that does nervous excitement with squeals and prayers, and that's where she goes in the cab. But before she bursts on the mat, Phil lets her know her team isn't last.
That honor goes to bio mom & daughter. Earlier they revealed what they've learned so far about one another: they are both double jointed and have frizzy hair. Now as they get eliminated, bio mom says she's gained the comfort of knowing that she gave her daughter to a good family. Perhaps, during their stay at elimination station, they can figure out the gene they share that made them think a reality show was the best place to bond.
Assistant Features Editor Adrienne Johnson Martin would like to have her life turned into an animated cartoon.