Author Topic: An Interview with Survivor: Guatemala’s Brianna  (Read 3807 times)

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Offline puddin

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An Interview with Survivor: Guatemala’s Brianna
« on: October 01, 2005, 11:18:59 PM »
“I Definitely Wasn’t the Weakest”: An Interview with Survivor: Guatemala’s Brianna
by David Bloomberg -- 09/30/2005

 
Brianna was voted out of Yaxha for supposedly being the weakest link. But she doesn’t agree with that assessment. What does she have to say about what transpired? And what is her side of the story on Morgan being voted out before her? All of this and much more is here in this interview.

Brianna was part of the majority alliance on Yaxha – but so was Morgan before her. Morgan claimed she and Brianna promised they wouldn’t vote against each other – but how did Brianna see the situation? Does Brianna think she was the weakest link? And what was she thinking during her final immunity challenge? Read on for the answers!

RealityNewsOnline: Hello, Brianna, and thanks for taking the time to answer these questions for RealityNewsOnline’s readers. What was your initial plan for playing Survivor and how did that plan change as the game began?

Brianna: My strategy for the game was to be myself. I was always going to tell the truth, I wasn't going to lie. Though I might be vague at times, I wasn't go lie.

 RNO: When you were in your final immunity challenge and your teammates were yelling at you to move, what was going through your mind?

Brianna: I knew at that time that I was going to go home. I knew the fact that I couldn't do it was going to be the end of me. I knew that my head would be on the chopping block because I could not do that basketball challenge. It was survival of the fittest and I unfortunately was not able to do that challenge.

RNO: Morgan told us last week that you promised her you would not vote for her – how did the vote turn against her and why did you help vote her out?

Brianna: First of all, I never told Morgan that I was not going to vote for her. She came to me and said, "Brianna, I will not vote for you.” I looked at her and said "Thank You." I never said I wouldn't vote for her. It was in my head at Tribal Council that we were all voting for Morgan and then Stephenie reaffirmed the vote and said that they had decided they were all going to vote for Morgan.

RNO: Did you expect your alliance to hold steady and keep you safe after they all voted out Morgan, who was supposedly a part of that same group?

Brianna: I expected my alliance to hold up. We knew that if there was going to be a break in our alliance, Morgan would be the first to go. I really thought I was safe.

RNO: Did you feel that you were the weakest link, compared to Lydia and the injured Amy?

Brianna: I was a weak link in the tribe but I definitely wasn’t the weakest. I didn’t have a sprained ankle.

RNO: Did you do anything to fight against the idea that the vote should be based solely on who could perform best in physical challenges?

Brianna: Honestly, no. I probably could have worked it in to where I would have tried to sway people. I talked to Stephenie and tried to tell her that I wasn’t ready to go but I should have tried harder.

RNO: Did you suspect that Gary was lying to the tribe when he denied Danni’s claim that he used to be an NFL quarterback?

Brianna: I did not suspect that he was lying at all. When Brian had brought that up, I think that it just went over everyone’s head. It didn’t even cross my mind twice that he was lying.

RNO: You mentioned that Lydia wouldn’t look you in the eye or talk to you – what did you do to try to engage her?

Brianna: Just casual cordial conversation. Just normal conversation is something that you try to do out of respect and she just didn’t even do that. She had no desire to talk to me and would just have short answers even when we were alone. Being from the same state, living an hour away from each other, I thought that she would be someone I could talk to but I was wrong.

RNO: How did you feel about having previous players in the game?

Brianna: I was so happy when Stephenie joined our tribe. I looked at it as a blessing because we could use her as a resource. She’s played the game before and knew what to expect. I never looked at her like she was someone I should have been worried about, but I was blindsided. I think I was overwhelmed a little bit.

RNO: Is there anything else you’d like to tell our readers about your time in the game?

Brianna: The day before the basketball challenge, I was SO sick and though you didn’t see that, I was sleeping at camp the entire day before. Also, every meal that the tribe had, I cooked. (except for the fish) so I was a hard worker at camp.

RNO: Thanks again, Brianna!

http://www.realitynewsonline.com/cgi-bin/ae.pl?mode=1&article=article5751.art&page=1

Offline puddin

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Re: An Interview with Survivor: Guatemala’s Brianna
« Reply #1 on: October 02, 2005, 03:35:10 PM »
Survival on TV wasn't in cards
Brianna Varela of Edmonds says she's happy with how she did on "Survivor."

By Victor Balta
Herald Writer


For the season premiere of "Survivor: Guatemala" in September, 21-year-old Brianna Varela had a huge party at her house in Edmonds.

More than 60 friends and relatives showed up to watch her kick off her quest for $1 million as one of the popular reality show's 18 contestants.

"Tiki torches lined the driveway, we had two big-screen TVs going, there was tons of food and drinks, and everyone was just partying," Varela said in a telephone interview on Friday.

For the second episode, there was another huge party at her mother's house in Bothell, with more friends and family.

But when the third episode rolled around Thursday night, Varela found herself watching it in a lonely hotel room in New York City, with a looming 6:30 a.m. wake-up call to get ready for an appearance on CBS' "The Early Show."

That could mean only one thing: The tribe had spoken.

After eight days in the Guatemalan jungle, Varela was out.

"It was hard to watch (Thursday) night, because you totally relive every emotion you experienced when you were voted off," Varela said from the media relations office at CBS headquarters in New York.

A poor showing in a Mayan game that sort of resembled basketball did her in. Varela said the challenge, which was edited for television, actually lasted about two hours in 114-degree heat, leaving her virtually motionless and unable to help her teammates. Her Yaxha tribe eventually lost.

Varela said she knew during that challenge that her day had come.

"There was no question about it," she said. "That challenge was grueling, so physically challenging. I was out of the game."

A fan of the show since the first season, Varela said even she misjudged how difficult it would be.

"I underestimated Guatemala, big time," she said. "The heat, the humidity, the bugs, the fatigue that sets in and just, emotionally, missing your family.

"That's one of the hardest things. You're stuck out there with 17 other people. If you're going to have a breakdown, people are going to view you as weak."

One of those was Jamie, a water-skiing instructor from California who had the harshest words for Varela, calling her a "girlie girl" and saying she should "go back to the shopping mall and leave the jungle."

"I think Jamie's comments are a direct reflection of his maturity," said Varela, who, by the way, doesn't work at Nordstrom at Alderwood mall anymore. "For him to take a stab at me like that, you know, it's like, have some respect. If he doesn't think I can hack it out there, do I really care about that?

"But it's ironic that he was complaining about me being a girlie girl, because he was sick out there for a whole week and he was complaining about everything," Varela said. "And he was scared of bugs."


Varela, who now works as a bartender at Joey's Grill on Lake Union in Seattle, said she's looking forward to returning to New York for the season finale to help decide who will be the winner.

She's pulling for Gary, the 46-year-old former NFL quarterback who didn't tell his teammates about his pro sports career.


"I'll be interested to see how they portray the rest of the people," Varela said. "It'll be interesting to see how it all unfolds."

For her part, Varela is delighted to walk away from the experience knowing a little more about herself.

"Just knowing that I have the endurance to actually do something like that," she said. "I was picked for 'Survivor' out of thousands of people, and I made it eight days.

"That's eight days more than anyone else that I know. I'm proud of myself, even though it was short-lived. I am proud."

http://www.heraldnet.com/stories/05/10/01/100loc_survivor001.cfm



Offline Texan

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Re: An Interview with Survivor: Guatemala’s Brianna
« Reply #2 on: October 02, 2005, 06:11:19 PM »
She said she looks forward to helping decide the winner....are all of them voting this year or jsut the jury?

Offline puddin

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Re: An Interview with Survivor: Guatemala’s Brianna
« Reply #3 on: October 02, 2005, 06:27:19 PM »
She said she looks forward to helping decide the winner....are all of them voting this year or jsut the jury?
:<( Texan ..good catch ..maybe shes not that big of fan of Survivor afterall  , or are we looking at a Ghost tribe .. now where did I read about 3 tribes  *(^ ??

Offline Rob

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Re: An Interview with Survivor: Guatemala’s Brianna
« Reply #4 on: October 02, 2005, 10:17:54 PM »
When Guatemala was first announced, stories were coming out (and I am not quoting word for word) that ghosts played a huge part of Guatemalans lives, and thier futures. This could mean that all 'ghosts' from Survivor get to vote for the winner. Just my thoughts. Can anyone confirm this for sure? Thanks

Rob


Offline RudyRules

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Re: An Interview with Survivor: Guatemala’s Brianna
« Reply #5 on: October 03, 2005, 01:32:06 AM »
She said she looks forward to helping decide the winner....are all of them voting this year or jsut the jury?
That caught my attention too, Texan.  Like  whaaat? *(^  Are they doing it different this time and did Brianna perhaps "let it slip" when she said that?  Hummm...

It would definitely be an interesting change from the traditional if all the "ghosts" of S11 are the Jury members.  I like the idea b/c the "ghosts" get to play this most vital role!  |#' 
They'll all have a chance to woo or boo the Final Two with questions/comments at the Final TC! 

If all this actually happens, I wonder if they'll all fly back to Guatemala for the final TC or have it on stage in LA?  WoW! lots to think about, huh?!  {l{

 

Offline Swanee

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Re: An Interview with Survivor: Guatemala’s Brianna
« Reply #6 on: October 03, 2005, 06:21:12 PM »
Hey, it could happen :tada:
I'm pantless but not hatless!! :ass:  Yup, I'm shirtless now, too :boobs: