Survivor Q & A: Part 4

Cast of Survivor South Pacific.
(C) CBS, Monty Brinton, 2011.

How did you make your decision to vote for Sophie? (or Why did you vote for Sophie?):


I really did try to go into the final Tribal Council with an open mind. From my perspective, anyone of the 3 were deserving of the title--simply because they were able to make it the 39 days. But, I was specifically looking to vote for the person I felt embodied the "Outplay, Outwit, Outlast" motto for the game.


This secret scene describes my approach in more detail. (We filmed it at Ponderosa prior to the Final Tribal Council):
http://www.cbs.com/shows/survivor/video/2178063675/survivor-south-pacific-the-jury-speaks-dawn




What do players DO at Ponderosa (the post-game "home" for players)?:


CBS.com has some great Ponderosa clips, if you want to see what our days are like. (If you're a big fan of the show, you probably already know about these. But, if you don't, you have to see them. The clips are produced by Norwood Cheeks--love him--and they really are great. You'll see Cochran find a piglet, Jim sing and play guitar, Whitney and Keith talk about their relationship, and Brandon and myself braid Ozzy's hair. Ha.)


But, just generally speaking, Ponderosa is a little like a vacation, summer camp, and the game, all rolled into one. We have "handlers," security, and a psychologist there, so we are supervised. And then, every few days, production schedules excursions for us--so we can SEE and TOUR the beautiful island. 


While I was there, we were able to have lunch at an amazing resort (Coconuts), swim in a local attraction called "The Trench," and shop in downtown Apia (on the island of Upolu). 

Jim, ME, Whitney, Keith, Brandon, Cochran, and Edna at "The Trench."

Edna, Cochran, and ME at Ponderosa.
(PS: We slept in tents here, under these cabana thingys.)

But outside of the excursions, most of our time is unscheduled. We really just hang out together, talk about the game, swim, lay out, play card/board games, read, watch DVDs (production provides a pretty incredible inventory of DVDs, games, etc. for us to watch/use). 


Oh, and you moms out there--you will love this: at Ponderosa our meals are prepared for us by a chef (Simon--a really kind Australian man). Yup. For the 11 days I was outside the game, I had a chef. Can you believe? 


(PS: If I can get CBS to clear it, I'm going to share my favorite recipe from Ponderosa with you--for Pancakes With Carmelized Bananas. Oh. Yum.)




How has your family dealt with all of this?


I think this photo says it all: they have loved it.

Our son, Jay, with Cochran after the Live Reunion.

Our kids/my husband have LOVED watching the show and being part of the whole experience. 


They really have been so supportive and excited for every part of it. And I'm so grateful to them--because they all sacrificed a lot to help me chase this dream of mine. (PS: Their support has taught me about about how much you can accomplish when people HELP you chase your dreams. Really, when people are behind you--and fully supporting you--you can accomplish SO much.)




What did Jeff mean when he said "you transformed your body"--at the Live Reunion show?




I'm going to post more about this on January 1--as part of my New Year's Day post. But, the short answer is that I worked out 2 times a day for 10 months in order to prepare for the show. 


The producers (one of which was Jeff Probst) were able to see this "before" and "after" transformation first-hand because I was originally cast for Survivor Nicaragua the year before Survivor South Pacific. (But, I was cut a few weeks before the cast left to play the game.)


After being cut from the show, I had a decision to make: "Let the Survivor dream go and move on" or "Give it all I've got and get cast again."


I thought long and hard about this decision--and decided to "give it I've got and get them to cast me again."


So, for the next 10 months I decided to REALLY prepare myself physically, mentally, and spiritually for Survivor.


Part of that included working out. 


When I began working out, I could bench-press about 30 pounds. The bar only.


But, when I returned for auditions for Survivor South Pacific 10 months later, I could bench-press 170 pounds.


Isn't that crazy? (Yes.)


Anyway, I have so much more to say on this topic. 


I really did "transform" myself as I prepared for the game. And that experience was SO EMPOWERING. (I grew so much--literally. Ha ha.)


I think this has been the greatest gift I've received from playing Survivor. I realize now, "if you would do all of this for a game for a million dollars, shouldn't you do it for your life--which is worth infinitely more than a million dollars?" (Yes.)

Kind of ironic: I learned to bench-press 170 pounds ...
and then I went into a challenge where I had to bear 140 pounds.

I knew I could do it.
 (Not sure anyone else did, but I did. Woo hoo.)

****

PS: 

Thank you so much for taking the time to read my blog. It's been a little overwhelming to think that the blog I began as a journal, a little over 5 years ago, is now read by a lot of people outside my own family. But, it's also been exciting. So, thank you for taking the time to learn about my experience on Survivor, our family, our adoptions, my bread-baking, and life here in Salt Lake City, Utah.