“I Promised My Son That I Would Be Honest With Everyone, Including Myself”: An Interview with Survivor’s Jolanda

Jolanda was the first person voted out of Survivor: Palau, so we didn’t get to know her beyond the few things we saw. In this interview, she explains the decisions in the first challenge, talks about how she was going to play the game, gives us some insight into her life and thoughts, and much more.

RealityNewsOnline: Hello, Jolanda, and thanks for taking the time to answer these questions from RealityNewsOnline. What was your strategy going to be if you had stayed around longer?

Jolanda: To work hard, be honest, stay true to myself, and help the team win immunity. Plus I wanted to see if an honest person could win the game. It just so happens that with the members of Ulong, I think that was impossible.

RNO: Do you think winning that first immunity for yourself was a curse?

Jolanda: Absolutely, but I would do it again. Me winning immunity was only one of the numerous differences I had on our team.

RNO: Did you make your pick for the tribe based on team strength or because Bobby Jon was a personal ally?

Jolanda: I picked Bobby Jon both because he was strong and he was absolutely the best at getting coconuts, our only food source. He worked harder than any of the guys. He was a respectful guy and a team player. Also, he was honest.

RNO: Which pick on either tribe surprised you the most?

Jolanda: Ian picking Katie.

RNO: During the challenge, you briefly argued with teammates that you could grab the various items and still win – why did you think you could fall behind and make it up?

Jolanda: First, our team strategy was to take everything (because we were strong and young and could do it – per our team strategy discussion) and only if we got behind to just take the fire (per our team strategy discussion). I was not the only one saying that. I tried to follow our strategy. Further, we didn’t lose because of that strategy. We were less than a minute behind when we made it to the beach. We lost by about 20 minutes. That’s what killed us. I thought we could make it up because Jeff said he knew how to outrigger and the team strategy was to listen to him and follow his instructions in the outrigger. Turns out he didn’t know what he was doing.

RNO: If you know you have a strong personality, why didn't you stay in the background?

Jolanda: My physical presence is such that I couldn’t blend in. Further, if I tried then I would have been seen as an Osten (big with muscles but sorry with no heart and a quitter). Besides that, I have learned that in life, you have to be true to yourself. I could not look myself in the mirror if I did otherwise. No amount of money, even one million dollars, is enough to make me change to make someone else OK. I did that with my ex-husband and ended up in an abusive relationship (almost dying on at least one occasion). Besides that and most importantly, I promised my son that I would be honest with everyone, including myself. That’s how I want him to live his life; that’s what I teach him; and therefore I must walk the walk. If I changed for one million dollars then the lesson there would be that, “for a price, I will change who I am.” I just couldn’t do that.

RNO: Why, specifically, did you target Angie?

Jolanda: Everyone on Ulong, except for James, said Angie was the weakest physically. I personally thought we needed to keep our physical strength because Koror had five men and we only had four.

RNO: We know you talked to several people on your tribe about voting against Angie; did you talk to the ones who ended up voting you out – if so, were their votes for you a surprise or did you know it was coming?

Jolanda: I knew I was being voted out before I actually was. Ashlee, Stephanie, Jeff, and Kim lied to me. They said they were voting off Angie. I was not surprised. Bobby Jon, Ibrehem, and Angie were honest and I respect that.

RNO: If you could go back to the beginning, what would you do differently?

Jolanda: I maybe would have picked Gregg, but I’m not sure about that. I don’t think anything else would have done any good because it would have required being dishonest (for example, losing on purpose) and I couldn’t do that.

RNO: What have you taken away from your experience?

Jolanda: Notwithstanding the outcome, I had a great time. It was the experience of a lifetime. I would do it again if asked to do so.

RNO: Thanks again, Jolanda!

If you haven’t already, be sure to check out these other Survivor: Palau Episode 1 articles:

David Bloomberg is the Editor of RealityNewsOnline and can be reached at RNO@pobox.com.

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