“I Wrote My Own Destiny”: An Interview with Survivor’s Janu

As everybody knows by now, Janu laid down her Survivor torch, but avoided a spot in the Reality TV Hall of Shame. She has previously discussed her final Tribal Council, and does so again here. But she also talks about her strategy, what days were like at Koror, how her health was doing, and much more!

RealityNewsOnline: Hello, Janu, and thanks for taking the time to answer these questions from RealityNewsOnline!

Janu: Hey David, thanks for asking me to do this interview. Sorry it took so long, but I have been doing radio press for days. Okay, so here goes!

RNO: Coming into Survivor, what was your goal – was it to win the million dollars or to have a certain type of experience?

Janu: My initial goal to go on Survivor was to win the million dollars. However, my experience ended up a little different, yet I have no regrets about laying down my torch. As I said at Tribal Council, I had an amazing experience that I could never put a price on it. I learned so much, such as knowing that I could challenge myself to live in a different environment and survive even if I did not walk away with the million dollars!

RNO: What were your plans coming into the game, and how did they change along the way?

Janu: My plans going into the game were to #1 stay true to myself. I knew going in that the one thing that would probably be the most difficult was the lying and cheating, but I wanted to stay under the radar, observe and then make moves. So, throughout the game, I feel that I did pull my weight in all of the challenges that I was able to participate in and I never tried to sabotage my tribe by not giving it my all!

RNO: Because Koror kept winning, we saw a lot more of Ulong during the first half of the game. Can you describe what your days on Koror were like?

Janu: Days, were very long at Koror. I remember always coming back to our island happy because we kept winning but it was boring at times. Everyone seemed to get along at the beginning and then towards the end true colors starting coming out. I, unfortunately became ill from episode five when we won the reward challenge with the stew, and from then on I was always sick. That being said, I got on people's nerves because they were done playing with me. But it is all good! No hard feelings! I lived my reality as well as they did even if some members of the tribe seemed to not be very nice towards me in their interviews. I am glad, even though it was awful to watch me on national TV throwing up, that that was shown, because at least everyone got to see that I was sick, and I was not being lazy just sitting in the hammock! :)

RNO: You mentioned that you were sick for at least some of your time on Survivor – can you fill in any more details?

Janu: To add to [what I said above], I did not have that much weight that I could afford to lose, and I ended up losing around 12 pounds, and that really took a toll on my body.

RNO: You seemed reinvigorated after your stay on the island alone – what do you feel you gained from that experience and how does it fit into your overall Survivor experience?

Janu: When I did that challenge, where I only lasted six minutes in the water, I guess I wanted to be exiled! ;) I wanted to get away and be alone! I truly enjoyed going there and starting fire by myself, and just being with all of nature's elements. Water, the fire, the stars, the moon, the island itself, it was just an amazing experience! Also, at some point in the night the film crew went away to sleep I suppose, because how interesting would it have been for them to film one person the entire night! ;) So, when I realized that they were gone, it became even more exciting! Just to know that I was there by myself. Truly unforgettable!!