Here is an interview with 10 year old Savannah from Kentucky:
Savannah, a 10-year-old from Partridge, was another pioneer. Her father applied to be on Survivor last year, but when casting agents called, they were looking for the daughter, not the father. (Mining applications for other shows seems like standard procedure now; you might recall that David and Mary Conley of Stone were selected for The Amazing Race after David applied to be on Survivor.)
Savannah told me on Tuesday that the family thought it was a joke, but as the calls kept coming in, they decided to listen. Her favorite memories of the show, she says, she's not allowed to share right now.
Read on to learn more about Savannah, her favorite chore in Bonanza City and the worst part about being away from home for six weeks. (One word: outhouses.)
Question: What surprised you about the experience?
Answer: I didn't realize it was going to be that long until I actually did the show I wasn't that nervous. I thought, 'Six weeks, that's not very long.' It was pretty long. When I first got there, I'm like, 'Whoa.' I thought it would be hot and miserable and shorts all day. And I'm like 'Uh, no.' It's cold.
Q: What did you do when you got there?
A: I wanted to try to make a good friend, so I was just walking around trying to figure out where everything was and socialize. Yeah, I made a really good friend. She was the first person I met on the bus. It turns out she was the other girl from Kentucky, Kennedy from Ashland. She's a really good tennis player, and we talked about different things and how we got chose for the show.
Q: What kind of work did you have to do?
A: We had to cook breakfast, lunch and dinner for ourselves. We didn't have lunch -- we didn't cook lunch, at least. We had to wash our own clothes. We had to cook and clean, take care of the animals. We had to haul our water. It was pretty much work, a lot. We did fool around some, but...
Q: There's been a lot of criticism of the show and articles talking about accidents and injuries. What do you think about it?
A: I think it's just some kids who were jealous because they didn't win, they didn't get gold stars. We didn't have to work. We didn't have to do all that stuff, but we did it anyway. You could take a break when you wanted to.
Q: Was it hard not having grown-ups around?
A: It was pretty difficult without our parents. When we felt bad or somebody hurt our feelings, we didn't have mommy or daddy to run to. It was pretty hard to live without 'em. We learned to depend on each other.
Q: What did you miss most about being away from home?
A: I missed having my parents fix the food for me, them washing our clothes, not having to use outhouses, having sinks and faucets. Just your normal, every-day stuff. Not having our every-day life things, toilets, showers, sinks, right there where you wanted them.
Q: What was the biggest lesson you learned?
A: Probably to depend more on my self than my parents while I was out there. I learned to be more self-sufficient.
Q: Do you ever have to cook at home or wash your own clothes now?
A: No, not really.
Q: What was your favorite part about it?
A: I liked being in a different environment, being with different kids, learning how to be with other kids in a different place.
Q: Were there any chores you enjoyed?
A: I think cooking for ourselves was pretty fun. I like to cook, and I never really get to. Breakfast was grits and hash browns. For dinner, pasta, noodles, potatoes. Nothing much.
Q: Do you think adults should listen more to kids in the rest of the world?
A: Not the little tiny kids, but the 14 and 15-year-olds, the teenagers should be more listened to. The adults make decisions for everyone, and we're a part of everyone. Some of the kids should have a little bit of say of what goes for everything around us.
Q: You're 10 years old -- did you hang out with older kids or younger kids?
A: I wasn't completely with the older kids, but I wasn't a real little kid, either. I tried to be with everybody. I didn't want to be in a clique, or whatever, because it's not really good to be with a group. You need to try to socialize with everybody.
Q: What's the biggest issue facing kids today?
A: Their parents set a bad example for them, so they set a bad example for smaller kids. It makes everyone a worse person.
Q: What did other kids things about it?
A: While we were out there, they didn't really like it. After we got back, they thought it was pretty cool. I really do think this is a pretty good experience.
Q: Would you do it again?
A: No, it's not the type of thing I'd want to do again. It's a one-time thing. It was a good experience while it lasted. I would go for a week or something, but not for a real long time.
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