Asians on Amazing Race 17

I only discovered YouTube sensation Kevin Wu (a.k.a. Kev Jumba) this summer when his web series Funemployed “aired”. What a cutie! Just this year, he also started his webpage, KevJumba, just before taking off on a mysterious trip for reasons and destination he could not reveal.

Then, it was all revealed at the end of summer that Kevin and his 58-year-old father, Michael, are contestants in the 17th season of The Amazing Race! I’m so stoked! Michael has become a little bit of a celebrity on Kevin’s site and I wanted to see them in “real life.”

The first episode has now been aired and I’m so relieved that Team Jumba has survived the first elimination and made it into the top ten! Historically, The Amazing Race is won by young teams so it’s really heartening to see underdog teams survive and even thrive some legs. In fact, Kevin and Michael came in 7th pretty much at the same time as father-daughter team, Gary and Mallory.

With eleven whole teams and the eliminated team to spend a little more time spotlighting, not much attention was shown Team Jumba. They may have been downplayed, even, but I can be overly sensitive.

New this year, I think, is the team colours. Team Jumba is dark blue and some funny nicknames are already coming out of things:

• Team Orange, the African-Americans who were eliminated in the first leg
• Team Turquoise, “Tinkerbell and Pan”, because the girl has really short blonde hair; they seem alright
• Team Purple, a couple, they look like they will be evil
• Team Red, a recently reunited (just their third encounter) woman and her biological mother, “Gilmore Girls”
• Team Blue, “Nat and Kat” or “The Doctors”; will be smart but interviewed that they are way out of their element
• Team Lime Green, the beach volleyball players; every season has a hottie team
• Team Pink, the home shopping hosts; older and kind of hot
• Team Dark Blue, Team Jumba!
• Team Green, self-named “Team Glee”, and one of them has been likened to Harry Potter, hah
• Team Yellow, a father-daughter team where she’s really perky!
• Team Gray, the girl is pierced and highly tattooed

Another Asian on the season is half of Team Blue, the doctors, Nat. It looks like they are surgeons and NPY is intrigued by her. She’s intelligent-looking, looks like a doctor, he thinks.

I suppose everyone’s personalities will come out as the stress kicks in….