The Amazing Race, season 12, starts Sunday

My best friend from college wants us to be in the The Amazing Race. She made it as far as having an actual interview for Survivor once, so who knows? Perhaps we’d have a shot at it if we could ever find out when the tryouts are. This coming Sunday, November 4 at 8 pm is the premiere of the 12th season.

I had never watched The Amazing Race until my friend said we should give it a shot. I’m always a bit wary when I look to see how cultures are portrayed by the mainstream media, but I have to say, from what I’ve seen, I’m pretty impressed. Instead of making fun of countries, it seems the show is fairly earnest about portraying them in a positive light. Considering the pressure and stress of trying to win by negotiating the details required to travel the 50,000 miles in 28 days, I’m also happy with the way the people on the show behave while traveling. Perhaps saying nasty things about the places does happen, but this seems edited out.

I’ve looked at the video of this year’s contenders and am not sure who I’m rooting for. I’m drawn to the grandson/grandfather team, but the Goth team looks like they’ll create a bit of a stir and might be fun to watch while they travel about the world.