Kansas

It is the last leg of the race! And we are headed to Kansas!

Kansas is in the center of it all. Even Google Earth. Did you know that when google earth first launched it centered in on Lawrence? 

it's true

Kansas Chart

Ah! Ah! Kansas

I could have sworn there was an ah ah Kansas video that said from the pony express to the Chisolm trail....but I couldn't find it...so here is a different Ah! Kansas spot for you.

ROADBLOCK

Rock Chalk 

It's March Madness time! Kansas is well known for it's basketball team.  In honor of March Madness get out and play some basketball this week. The challenge is to make 80 shots, because on of KU's greatest professors would have turned 80 this June. 

DETOUR

Sunflowers!

The symbol of Kansas and my favorite flower. This detour  is to eat something with sunflower seeds in it.

Thanks for doing the Amazing Race--Rytting Style.  Be sure to turn in all your points this week (if you haven't been telling weekly). 

knock on Missouri (couldn't help it)

Canada

 

Well, it is snowing here while I write this in honor of our trip to the "Great White North."  Canada is the 2nd largest country in the world. It is the only country that we have raced to that I have actually been to. So that is fun. 

Canada chart

Canada flag coloring page

Learn some things about Canada by watching the above videos, or I guess you could watch Anne of Green Gables. 

ROADBLOCK

Meet Thor

Not that Thor, This one....

Mt Thor is the world's steepest cliff, (at least of the ones they have measured). It is steeper than vertical with an incline of 105 degrees.  It is located in Auyuittuq National Park. Mt Odin and Mt Asgard are there also, (and all this time I thought Asgard was in Norway....oh well). Anyway, Thor Peak is at 5,495 feet. So since we had fun riding bikes in Canada, the road block is to ride a bike at least that many feet. 

DETOURS

The Northern Lights

If you spend a lot of time in Canada you will probably be able to see the Northern Lights. Someday, I want to see them. In the meantime you can make your own Northern Lights. There are tons of northern lights art projects, so if you want to do a different one, go for it.

Northern Lights art project

Bears

While we were in Canada, we saw lots of bears. Some closer than others. We didn't get any great photos, but we didn't want to get that close. 

Go on your own bear hunt this week....

(The Wiggles sure look older than I remembered)

And lastly, I know it isn't really about Canada, but this is probably my favorite sketch....

" O, Canada!"

Sweden

 

This week we will race through Sweden. It is located in Scandinavia and is famous for exporting build it yourself furniture throughout the world. Just kidding. It is actually famous for being the homeland of the Rytting family!

Sweden chart

A Swedish landscape video

ROADBLOCK

Take a Chance

a church in Alsike

So many immigrants took a chance and sought a better life, economically and religiously including the family of Charles Frederick Rytting

He was born in Krusenberg, Alsike, Uppsala, Sweden. His family settled in Granstville, Utah. This is a distance of around 5,000 miles (probably as the crow flies)

The roadblock this week is to walk at least 5 miles, while listening to the music of ABBA. You don't have to do it all in one go. They have many songs to choose from :)

DETOURS

Lordagsgodis

Click on the link above for an article about Lordagsgodis.

Apparently part of Swedish Culture is that you only eat sweets on Saturdays!

This detour should probably be worth 50 points, for me anyway,  but of course it is only 5.

The detour is to only eat sweets on Saturday this week!

Tomten

Tomten are gnomelike creatures that live in Sweden. 

They help protect your home or farm.

They like you to take care of your belongings.

So this detour is to make sure you don't leave any of your belongings laying around in the public living spaces of your home by the time you go to bed, otherwise you won't get 5 points and a tomten might play a trick on you. 

A story about tomten by Astrid Lindgren (who wrote Pippi Longstocking)

Kiribati

 

Kiribati chart

Flag coloring page

This week we are in the tiny Pacific island nation of Kiribati. Guess what? It's nation is in all four hemispheres!!!! Pretty cool, but also kind of crazy when it comes to time zones. Kiribati is made up of many very small islands and only has a population of about 120,000 people. 

One of the first things I learned about Kiribati was that it isn't pronounced how I thought. the "ti" makes an s sound.....

This video explains a lot about Kiribati

The official tourism video

Roadblock

Kiribati is the first place on earth to greet the sunrise each day. 

(Refer to that Geography Now video for an explanation of how for a couple of hours each day, Kiribati can be in three different days at once)

The roadblock for this week is to take the time to notice the sunrise at least 3 times this week.

Detours

Fish and weaving

A pandanus mat

The people of Kiribati weave a lot, and they have lots of fish, so this task is a combination of the two.

Fish Weaving Craft Instructions

Kiribati Food

Seafood is the main staple of  the diet in Kiribati. Coconut, taro, breadfruit, pandanus, pumpkin, papaya, and banana are also grown there. So this week eat some seafood, or if you can't stand that, some coconut or banana or hey, breadfruit if you can find it.

Viet Nam

 

This week we are visiting the country of Viet Nam. 

VietNam flag coloring page

VietNam chart

10 Facts about Viet Nam

ROADBLOCK

Table Tennis

2017 South East Asia Men's Team gold

Table tennis is a popular sport in VietNam (of course soccer is the most popular). The roadblock this week is to play some table tennis. Or outdoor tennis if you don't have access to table tennis. Be creative if you need to!

Detour

Dragon Boat:

In Viet Nam the dragon is one of four sacred animals (the dragon, unicorn, tortoise, and phoenix) The dragon brings rain and symbolizes water. There are many boats decorated like dragons. There are also dragon boat races, with sleeker boats than the ones in the video.

For this detour you can make your own dragon boat:

instructions for dragon boat

Vietnamese Food

Blog about Vietnamese Food

Try some Vietnamese Food this week.  You don't have to make your own bone broth (though it does make your kitchen smell good), just give it a try. 

Uganda

 

(from Harpar's Bazaar)

Uganda Chart

Uganda Flag Coloring Page

This week we are travelling east to Uganda. The equator goes through Uganda. It has abundant wildlife and has part of Lake Victoria in it. It is home to the mountain gorilla. 

Some facts about Uganda

ROADBLOCK

The Source of the Nile

The Nile River has two main tributaries, the White Nile and the Blue Nile. The White Nile is considered the source of the Nile River and is in the Jinja Region of Uganda. The drainage basin of the Nile covers 11 countries.

The roadblock for this week is to go swimming!  Because swimming takes some effort to plan and it is likely that you can just manage to go once, I am not going to say how far or how long you need to swim, just swim. 

(from gorillaugandasafaris)

DETOUR

Go on a Safari

The grey crowned crane is the national animal of Uganda

Check out this blog to see pictures and learn about some of Uganda's wildlife

Uganda really has a ton of animals. It has lions, elephants, zebras, hippopotamus and more. For this detour dance along to the jungle jive: (but really check out the animal pictures)

Eat a Rolex!

Not a watch, but a rolled egg dish

This post explains how to make a rolex

There are many recipes you can find to make the flat bread (or if you really want you could get the uncooked tortillas from a store and pretend)

One recipe for chapati

Argentina

 

                    (photo of Fitz Roy from Pandotrip)

We are heading north from Antarctica to the diverse country of Argentina. Argentina is 2,360 miles from North to South. We are focusing on the northeastern provinces, especially Misiones and Corrientes. So, we went from subfreezing in Antarctica to 120 degrees with lots of humidity.

                                                             Argentina Chart

    

                                                  Argentina Flag to color for fun

Here is a brief tour of Argentina

This one has more facts and history if you are interested.

ROADBLOCK

(Messi, from the Times of India website)

Like most countries besides the US, Futbol is the most popular sport in Argentina.

It is hard for me to understand the draw, it seems like a frustrating sport. You basically run around for two 45 minute halves, hoping to score. Folks,  the average score of a professional soccer game is less than 3 goals. 

So this weeks roadblock is to exercise continuously for 45  minutes twice, or one continuous 90 minute block.  If you gather your family to play soccer, make sure you hardly ever score. :)

DETOURS

In Argentina, cowboys are called Gauchos. There are lots of gauchos in the northern part of Argentina. In Corrientes, there is a legendary gaucho named Gaucho Gil.  Also in Corrientes is a dance that is done in which the men dress like gauchos, called the chamame. One detour is to figure out the basic step of this dance. You can use a partner or not. Also, you can post a video, or not. 

This link was the best explanation I could find about how to dance it, but it isn't on youtube, so it is just a link......

How to dance the chamame

Detour #2

One of the most famous foods/drinks from Argentina is of course mate. It is basically putting hot water in a bunch of grass and drinking it. :) 

Because Argentina is heavily European, pasta is very common, they don't really eat tacos. They do eat empanadas though. 

If you are super lucky, you can have an empanada made from capybara meat. (look it up if you don't know what that is)

This detour is to try some Argentinian food this week. You can look up a recipe and make it, or even find an a restaurant that serves authentic Argentinian food (please tell me you heard junior asparagus when you read that).