Archive through October 26, 2001

The ClubHouse: Archives: What an awful place!!!: Archive through October 26, 2001

Hippyt

Wednesday, October 24, 2001 - 07:23 pm Click here to edit this post
This episode was so depressing,atmosphere-wise. Begging,starving children,deceitful taxi drivers.I would have been crying just like all the other females . I probably would have been pulling off jewelry and giving it to them.
Frank and Margarita were so smart to chose the fast forward on this leg,just for the rest alone.And,I'm so glad Nancy and Emily made it this leg,it was fun watching their surprise at the end!
Those Guidos,arrrrgghhh!!!!!!!! Somebody needs to lock them in their hotel room!

Tvduck

Wednesday, October 24, 2001 - 07:36 pm Click here to edit this post
I must say that I totally understand that all the "ugly moments" were necessary. I've been in similar situation, although not in India, and the only way to get out of that mess and not to be ripped off by the local drivers is "don't be nice." DO NOT give any money to the locals. Otherwise, everyone would still stuck in the market to this day.

Avrey

Wednesday, October 24, 2001 - 07:57 pm Click here to edit this post
I was in India in 1994. You can't even begin to imagine the smell. No disrespect, but my husband and I could not wait to get out of there. You would even be surprised that in certain parts of Europe the smell and chaos is not much better, however, India is the only country I have traveled to so far that had so much poverty. The scenes of the childeren on the street begging is a typical day there. Many children are homeless and starving. It is very sad. I had a friend who was suppose to spend 3 days in India last year as part of a group tour, she was there for 8 hrs. before she left the country. It really makes you appreciate America.

Sukii1

Wednesday, October 24, 2001 - 08:03 pm Click here to edit this post
omg, I would have been a mess and giving all my money to the children who were staring me thru the taxi windows..how heartbreaking..omg. And Emily, wow she was coming unglued...and Karyn, OMG I thought she was going to slug her cabbie who had lied to her..she was BALLISTIC..didn't really blame her, but with that screechy voice, she's not going to get a whole lot of sympathy lol.

Smileeys

Wednesday, October 24, 2001 - 08:59 pm Click here to edit this post
My three weeks in Jamaicia (Ocho Rios for a class in college) would have come in handy in helping me deal with this part of the race if I had been there. I only watched a few episodes of "Lost" but one neat thing they did was give them little gifts like toys - coloring books and such - so they could give it to children. Once in Jamicia I gave out whole (the big pack) of gum to these children who were at a site I went to and their little smiles were beautiful. It was hard at times being there especially Ocho Rios because the locals would see us and start trying to get us to buy things - they loved and hated us. Other parts of Jamicia were not like that. This one place we went to the people waved and smiled at us when we went by on our bus and in that town - people were much friendlier. This episode just stirred up those memories.

Judy

Thursday, October 25, 2001 - 05:16 am Click here to edit this post
That was heartbreaking to see those children- I was close to tears and now understand why Nancy was crying during preview- I thought it was wonderful of her to rein Emily in when her frustration made her start calling the locals stupid. "Emily, do not disrespect these people" I loved that.
And Drew ( I LOVE THOSE LUGS!) seemed so sincere when he spoke of the children's eyes...
I just don't know ho I would've stopped my self from giving those kids something- but of course then the taxi would never be able to leave from the mob that would have formed.
I think I will go outside and kiss the ground-sometimes I feel so lucky to live in America.

Roe325

Thursday, October 25, 2001 - 05:33 am Click here to edit this post
Judy, I would have to suspect that they had instructions not to give those children anything. because I don't think nancy or Drew could have resisted otherwise. they are good hearted and that is why it bothered them so much. Her daughter was just overwhelmed and I think wanted to get the heck out of there and didn't need the extra stress of taking care of her mom and HER emotions.

I have never been to India, but know of the cast system, and their belief that if you come back poor it is your karmic fate, has any one ever been to the wealthier part of the country?

Misslibra

Thursday, October 25, 2001 - 06:18 am Click here to edit this post
Yes seeing that part of India makes you appreciate America. I LOVE MY COUNTRY! GOD BLESS AMERICA! :)

Emily definitely came unglued, as did Karyn, but I'm going to excuse them because I think if they weren't in a competition, and weren't being basically robbed by the cabbies, their behavior towards the people their would of been different.

I heard the smell there is terrible, but when you have Cattle, Monkey's & Rats all over the place it don't help. They consider the cattle sacred, and the Rats they believe once were people reincarnated so I guess thier sacred to, not sure what the deal is with the Monkey's, if they are sacred or not?

Jaded

Thursday, October 25, 2001 - 06:34 am Click here to edit this post
That was sooo depressing! What a nightmare! Frank and Margarita totally lucked out getting the fast forward. I also thought Karen acted out her frustration on Lenny once again when they lost. That wasn't nice to break up with him right there. He could do much better then her.

Crazydog

Thursday, October 25, 2001 - 08:10 am Click here to edit this post
Yes, I agree India was hard to watch. However, part of the reason why all of the teams (except for the Guidos) had so many problems is that they were so ignorant of the atmosphere and culture. If they had spent as much time travelling around the world as the Guidos, it would not have been such a shock to them.

I recently took a trip to China, where in some parts the poverty levels approximate that in what we saw last night. Whenever they see Americans, their eyes light up because they know you have money. You feel really bad for them but you know that if you give them any money, you will never get out of there because everyone will crowd around you. We were on a riverboat and women selling 50 cent maps followed us for ten minutes from where the boat docked to the place in town we were going. They ask you over and over and over again if you could buy a map, even though you repeatedly say no.

When Nancy and Emily were in the cab (I really didn't like Emily last night - I know she was under pressure but she was screaming at people and yelling just like blond Guido normally does) and the people just crowded around, they were just looking for money. Did you see when the little kid held up the baby with the eye infections? Heartwrenching.

Judy

Thursday, October 25, 2001 - 08:21 am Click here to edit this post
Yes the state those children were in was very sad indeed. Understandable the stir that the players caused- being obvious Westerners combined with the cameras- I am surprised there wasn't more of a mob scene.

I really don't want to offend anyone's beliefs and I would love to hear from Mahrajah on this...but the contrast between the cattle who looked fat and healthy while the children were sickly and starving- that just saddens the hell out of me:(

Sunshinemiss

Thursday, October 25, 2001 - 08:22 am Click here to edit this post
OMG what a wake-up call. I would rather drink that blood from Survivor than deal with those issues face to face. I am waaayyy too soft hearted to deal with those little faces and big sad eyes. I know, rationally, that I can't change their situation to any degree but I tell you, I hugged my little boy extra hard this morning and put a $5 bill in the "Feed the Hungry" box at our local grocery.

God Bless America, and thank you God for letting me be born in this country.

Misslibra

Thursday, October 25, 2001 - 09:23 am Click here to edit this post
Judy you know your right, about not wanting to offend anyone. And I hate that I don't know more about India's culture then what I do. Mahrajah, if your around and read this please don't be offend by my above statements, they were not intented to offend. And if I said anything untrue about the animals, please correct me. I'm here to learn, educate me please. :)

Oregonfire

Thursday, October 25, 2001 - 11:09 am Click here to edit this post
I've been to India, and I hate to say it but, well, you get used to the poverty, at least I did. My friend was approached in Bombay by a woman who wanted her to buy formula for her baby. My friend went directly to the store and bought it--she was really upset. It turns out that Nestle, the makers of the formula, have basically addicted these babies to their product, so they reject their mother's milk. It's especially cruel because these people are already so poor.

I've also been to the Taj Mahal, and the cabbies really try to take advantage. One cabbie said "Taj Mahal closed today; you go to my brother's shop." We were annoyed, but it was funny at the same time. We got out of his cab and walked for a while until another came along and took us from there. I can't imagine having to navigate India with the stress that these people are under. I had a few "ugly American" moments in India that I not particularly proud of.

The best time I had was in Goa, in the southern coast of India. I stayed in a nice lady's cottage, and befriended some tribal girls on the beach (they could be annoying too; being viewed as a huge dollar bill gets old sometimes.) While there is extreme poverty in India, the culture there is very rich, and many don't seem especially unhappy. I don't mean they shouldn't have better living conditions; I just mean that here in the West, we have a lot of creature comforts, but our culture is pretty boring in comparison.

Corriecat

Thursday, October 25, 2001 - 03:55 pm Click here to edit this post
I felt bad for Emily last night. She's young and has never experienced anything like that -- much less experienced it during the stress of playing a difficult game. Plus both she and Nancy were upset that they were loosing. I have the feeling stupid was the only word that came to her to express her frustrations with the people. Had it been an older, more experienced traveler like Bill or Joe I wouldn't be so forgiving. My husband and I wondered if they might have found some better challenges for the teams to do in India than trying to find their way in taxis.

Crazydog

Thursday, October 25, 2001 - 04:02 pm Click here to edit this post
I thought TV Guide had posted something about sacred rats in their description. It would have been interesting to see one of the detours to be to do something with the rats (i dunno, walk through a room full of them to get to the clue) which would have saved a lot of time, or something which would have been longer, like find some shrine or temple or something. The producers simply were not thinking in setting forth a bunch of Americans (read: dollar signs) in such a poor and tightly congested area. I definitely think that this area was the most dangerous for the teams so far. Those cab drivers were scam artists and I was convinced that those people around Emily and Nancy's cab would not move until they were paid off.

Realfan

Thursday, October 25, 2001 - 04:11 pm Click here to edit this post
<<Those cab drivers were scam artists and I was convinced that those people around Emily and Nancy's cab would not move until they were paid off. >>

Did they ever really show how they got out of that jam? The last I remember was seeing Rob and Brennan realize they were being taken by being driven around for half and hour by a cab driver who didn't know where the hotel was, then Karen realizing the same thing had happened to her and Lenny and getting angry about it.

The last I remember seeing of Emily and Nancy was in their cab crying.

Then E & N arrived at Agra before Karen and Lenny. How did that happen, when they were the last to leave the Red Fort and were having no luck with their cabbie? How and when did they figure out the hotel was in Agra? Anyone know?

I'm writing a historical novel right now which happens to be set in India. I certainly found this episode interesting, and distressing!

Voyeur

Thursday, October 25, 2001 - 11:56 pm Click here to edit this post
Nestle is absolutely horrible about the formula thing in third world countries. They use all kinds of underhanded tactics to get women to use free samples in the beginning until it is too late and their milk has dried up and the formula is very expensive compared to their income, and clean water to mix it with is unobtainable. Of course, formula companies here do the same thing, but at least we have modern medicine to handle the sicker babies and clean water so the babies are not outright poisoned. Merchants of death they are. We do not use or buy any Nestle products in our house.

Tisha90029

Friday, October 26, 2001 - 02:21 am Click here to edit this post
I hate to name-call, but what Emily did was nothing short of racist and culturally insensitive. Why were they "nuts"? Why were they stupid? At least I know she didnt get it from her mother.

Archer

Friday, October 26, 2001 - 12:16 pm Click here to edit this post
I feel as though the people that live there know nothing of the luxuries that we take for granted, and live their lives with dignity. Even if Emily was frustrated that her mom was crying and they were on the verge of losing gives her no right to be so evil to the locals. Good job to the mom for keeping a slightly calm head.

Oregonfire

Friday, October 26, 2001 - 01:56 pm Click here to edit this post
Jeez, give the girl a break. She was under a tremendous amount of pressure and very frustrated, but she was definitely not "evil." Sometimes people say things in the heat of the moment that they regret. Let's not blow one incident out of proportion and start calling the girl "racist" and "evil," because it's an unfair exaggeration and, from what little I've seen of Emily's behavior in the previous countries, not the norm for her.

Crazydog

Friday, October 26, 2001 - 02:14 pm Click here to edit this post
I agree. While I certainly think she's a little bossy and doesn't treat her mom very well, I don't think she's all that bad. That situation was extremely stressful and I think before anyone judges her, they should think about what they would have done in that situation. I'm not so sure I'd be calm and level headed either, but it's hard to really say unless you've actually been there.

Kep421

Friday, October 26, 2001 - 03:57 pm Click here to edit this post
Emily's young and like a lot of young people is a little self involved and immature at times. Immature people tend to strike out when they are very frightened or upset. It doesn't make her evil.

Given the ties she has with her Mom, grace will come with age and I think she will take on more of her mother's characistics as she becomes more mature. She probably learned alot from that experience and would probably act differently if she finds herself in that situation ever again.

Muse

Friday, October 26, 2001 - 05:28 pm Click here to edit this post
Yes, and keep in mind...if you saw a big group of your fellow citizens (say, here in U.S.) surrounding some poor confused tourists, and pointing at them and seemingly amused while they're obviously upset, you'd probably be angry at the Americans. It's different in India, but Emily and Nancy obviously weren't ready to cope with what happened to them there. Emily was scared and upset, and her mom was not much help.

I'm not trying to excuse her behavior (because, really, she went too far), but I do think it's pretty understandable. She has said she's regretted what she said there, too.

Madelane

Friday, October 26, 2001 - 05:52 pm Click here to edit this post
Well I'm not sure exactly what she was referring to when she said they were "stupid" but I was actually thinking the same thing when that woman just kept nodding at them. I don't care what language someone is speaking to me, I can tell when they are asking me a question and for her to just keep nodding was, in fact, stupid. At least it looked stupid. If she didn't know the answer or couldn't understand english, she could have shaken her head "no", instead of driving Nancy crazy by continually nodding.

I wondered if people in India "nod" when they mean "no", especially after the cab driver debacles, but that doesn't seem like the explanation. If someone were just nodding at me I would feel inclined to call them stupid too, especially if I were completely frustrated and a little scared.

On the other hand, grabbing the shirt of the cab driver and screaming at him did not look great. Poor Emily was under tons of pressure and she didn't handle it perfectly.

What I was thinking when I watched it was, "how stupid can this nodding lady be?" But then I totally cringed when Emily actually said it out loud. I figured people would come on the boards and complain and then I thought I would defend her, at least to a certain extent. I have had a similar experience in Columbia, where people kept approaching me and invading my personal space - I would ask them to leave me alone and they would come back again and again. It's actually very frightening and I'm sure Emily and Nancy were sort of scared being surrounded by all these people, no matter what their intentions or intelligence level. We are so accustomed here to people giving us our space, and we have our "traditional" ways of begging for money, it was just a huge culture shock from what I could tell.

Anyway, I'm not surprised she freaked out and I think she is FAR from racist or evil.