An "Insider" Look at Survivor: Guatemala, Episode 3: Weakest Link?

I thought this was a fairly dull episode, actually. But then, I had just come home from an all-day Accounting and Finance Departmental meeting, so my brain was pretty much mush. Not that it wasn’t fun and interesting, because it was, but hearing about topics like employment tax credits and the Fair Credit Reporting Act wears on the ol’ noodle after a while.

In any case, I hope the heat in Guatemala breaks soon, because I don’t know how much I can take of them lying around complaining about the heat. Again, not that I don’t feel sorry for them, it just doesn’t make for very compelling TV.

Brianna’s Final Words: She had a great time, they’re the strongest bunch of people she’s ever met. She gave it her all and tried her hardest, but it wasn’t strong enough. OK, now repeat those thoughts three times in random order, and you’ve got the idea of what this clip is like.

She’s very sad to be voted off. It’s survivor of the fittest and she was the weakest link (although she denies this in her interview with RNO). She learned that she is stronger than she thought she was. She learned not to be too trusting. She’s always been a trusting person and it led to her downfall. She doesn’t feel betrayed, they were in it to win it.

She will take away an incredible amount of strength, wisdom about people, culture, and survival. She couldn’t have asked for a better time – she was only there eight days, but it was the best eight days of her life.

She wouldn’t make promises to anybody if she had it to do over. She would have worked harder and trained harder before she came. You have to be athletic. She’s athletic, not as much as these people.

Brianna, the Day After: Her experience was amazing, she couldn’t have asked for more of a culture shock. Well, that IS kind of the point. The most real part of it is when you realize you’re in the middle of the jungle and you have to fend for yourself. It was amazing.

When she was having down and out days (she was there a big eight days, recall), she kept the thought of her family praying for her in the back of her mind. She knew that she would never be given more than she could handle in a day. Except for basketball games, apparently. Her faith brought her through.

Her first days in the jungle, she barely thought of her family. She was so focused on the game she didn’t have time. It was in down times that it really started to hit her. She broke down a couple times. She thought that she had to remember that they were thinking of her. Rephrase these sentences a couple times.

She learned to step back and look at herself when faced with situations. Rephrase this sentence three times.

She brought a lot to the game. She’s not the most athletic person, and that was one of her downfalls. One of? She wasn’t allowed to display what she had to bring. Well, they just would have blurred it out. With them losing challenges, her athletic ability was not cutting it for the tribe. Rephrase… oh, you get the idea.

Getting your torch put out is humbling. You try to save face, and you want to say good luck to your tribe, but it’s hard knowing your tribe doesn’t think you can keep up.

She is a girly girl. She was so enthusiastic to show the tough side of her, and she thinks it will get her a newfound respect. She’s in for a shock when she sees these episodes.

Let’s Hear it for the Monkey: Judd’s probably slept a couple hours in seven days. You’ve got the bugs and then the monkey is driving him out of his mind. Cindy can’t complain about being woken up by a howler monkey in Guatemala. People spend money to do that. People spend money to do a lot of things, Cindy, that doesn’t mean I’m going to enjoy them. She says others don’t find the noises as interesting as she does. We get a montage of people howling like the monkey. Judd says it’s the most annoying noise he’s ever heard. Judd hates the monkeys, Cindy loves them, and all animals, and talks about them all the time. That’s the gist.

Corn Again: Nakum yearns for a food challenge. Thankfully, they’re not nearly as annoying and Jerri and Amber from the Outback. Judd doesn’t like eating corn every day, but likes the protein. They’re done just about everything you can with corn, and it all tastes the same. Cindy says if you don’t eat it, you’re not hungry. Take it or leave it. Cindy has a good attitude, but I’m sure that will get old before long. Brandon wishes they would have gotten potatoes – you can do just about anything with potatoes, there’s not much you can do with corn.