“We Weren’t All Meant to Get Along” – An Interview with Survivor’s Christa

Christa was called obnoxious although we didn’t see the obnoxious behavior, she was blamed for dumping fish when it was actually her ally, she was given the boot when she thought Lill was going. All of this we knew. But what we didn’t know was just how much preparation Christa put into the game, why she joined with Jon against Tijuana, and what she thought of all the other things mentioned above. RealityNewsOnline asked her about these incidents and more in this interview.

RealityNewsOnline: What did you do to prepare for your stint on Survivor – did you watch previous series, study strategy, read up on the web, etc.?

Christa: Well, I did a lot of things to prepare for the show, like visiting the tropical gardens in Escondido and researching the plants and animals on islands listed in the real estate websites for the area. Now that I’m back, I realize that there’s not much that you can really do to fully prepare for the show – when you’re out there, it’s completely crazy and you always get the unexpected.

Here’s a sample of what I had planned for as far as food and living, etc. – some worked out, most didn’t. A lot of us went on expeditions throughout the island for fruit trees, roots, etc. Lime, mango trees were the only edible plants we found. We also found almond trees, but the nuts weren’t ripe yet. :)

Sap to catch small birds - Breadfruit (Cut V in tree)
Weaving materials - Cattail (Dried leaves)
Tinder - Cattail (Dry fluff); Coconut (Dried husk fiber)
Torches - Coconut (Oil in improvised torches)
Shelter - Coconut (Leaves as thatch)
Ropes - Coconut (Husk's fibers are used to weave ropes); Agave Tree (Pound the leaves and remove the fibers); Cuipo tree (Bark)
Strainers - Palm (Gauzelike fibers at the leaf bases as strainers)
Fishing Spear - Agave Plant (Thick, sharp needles at the tips of the leaves)
Cooking utensils and containers - Bamboo; Shells;
Dishes and Eating Utensils - Bamboo; Shells
Pans - Banana (Leaves for use over fire)

Insect Repellent - Cattail (Dry and burn); Coconut (Burn nuts for oil); Coconut (smoldering husk helps to repel mosquitoes); Lime (Juice)
Saltwater sores, sunburn, and dry skin - Coconut (Burn nuts for oil);
Soap - Agave Plant (Drain the sap)
Hairbrush - Bamboo

Water - Cuipo tree (Cut piece of root)
C Tea - Pine Needles, Lemon Juice and Sugar
Coffee - Carob or Acacia tree (Roast, dry, grind seeds); Beech (Roast nuts and grind shell)
Cranberry Hibiscus - Take Flowers and steep, then mix with lime and sugar and cool.
Fennel Tea - upset stomach

Sugar - Sugarcane; Sago palm (Drain sap and boil down), Sugar palm (Drain sap and boil down)
Syrup - Sugarcane; Sago palm (Drain sap and boil), Sugar palm (Drain sap and boil)
Salt - Ocean Water (Boil down to salt crystals)
Flour - Breadfruit (Slice and dry fruit and grind); Mango (Dry over fire and grind seed); Cassava (Roots are peeled and boiled, then dried over fire); Sago Palm (Dry over fire and grind palm heart meat); Carob tree (Boil brown pods, dry, grind);
Eggs - Sea Turtle Eggs, Bird Eggs
Milk - Coconut (Milk)
Oil - Beech (Boil nuts); Coconut (Boil coconut meat); Horseradish tree (Boil young fruits of palms)
Spice - Allspice (Grind), Garlic and Onion, Horseradish tree (Grind Roots), Nutmeg and Mace

Porridge - Carob tree (Pulverize seeds in mature pods and cook); Serve with fruit, coconut milk, syrup
Plantain Omelets - Plantains, Eggs, Oil, Salt
Plantain Fritters - Plantains, Flour, Oil, Eggs, Salt, Sugar, Water or Coconut Milk
Pancakes - Bamboo (Boil and mash seeds to form cakes and fry) or Mango Seed (Powdered w/ water)

Snake - Cover with chopped nuts or flour, add lime juice and fry fish over oil.
Fish - Cover with chopped nuts or flour, add lime juice and fry fish over oil (sailfish, amberjack, snapper, grouper, rooster fish, pompano, rainbow runner, mackerel, jack, shrimp, giant oysters, clams and mussels)
Pig - Fry or roast pig with oil.
Rabbit - Fry or roast rabbit with oil.
Bird - Fry or roast bird with oil.
Conch, Mussels, Oysters - Fry with oil.
Side Dishes - Asparagus (Steam); Plantains (Boil and mash unripe or fry); Breadfruit (Boil and mash unripe or fry); Bamboo (Boil and mash shoots); Casimiroa Soufflé (Eggs, lemon, sugar, salt, casimiroa); Horseradish tree (Boil leaves, use flowers as salad with some oil and salt, or boil pods), Yucca Root (Boil and mash or fry), sweet potatoes; Unripe Papaya Fruit (Cook like summer squash); Papaya Leaves (Cook like greens);

Fried Flaked Coconut with Plantains
Casimiroa and Berry Pie (Eggs, lemon, flour, sugar, salt, casimiroa, berries, chopped nuts)
Coconut Banana Pie (Eggs, flour, sugar, salt, coconut, banana, chopped nuts, boil and mash seeds of Bamboo)
Fried Flaked Coconut with Mixed Fruit Salad

Nuts - Coconut, Breadfruit, Jackfruit (Boil and roast nuts and sprinkle with salt), Carob tree (Boil young pods and sprinkle with salt)
Fried Fruits - Jackfruit, Breadfruit, Plantain/Banana Chips, (Fry with oil)
Fresh Fruits - Jackfruit, Breadfruit, Plantain/Banana, Casimiroa, Mango, Papaya, Sops, Coconut, Pineapple, Strawberry (Must have white, NOT YELLOW, flowers), Palm Fruits, Bael, Durian, Blueberry, Rose apple, Plum rose, Malabar plum, Avocado, Citrus, Guava, Guanabana, Passion-Fruit, Figs; Cherimoya (seeds are toxic); Candle Tree Fruit