Yuku free message boards

How sure were you that you were going home?
"I was pretty sure just coming back from the immunity challenge but I thought, 'I'm not going down without a fight, I'm going to do everything I can to stay in this game'. At one point throughout the day and going to tribal, I did have a glimmer of hope that one person would flip and vote for Russell. It would have been the time to do so given that he had the idol. It would have been a way to either flush out the idol or flush out Russell, but they didn't take that opportunity. That leads me to believe that they were playing to advance themselves one, two or three positions in the game, but not advance themselves to the $1 million."

Russell seems to have control of the game - is it because his tribe want to ride on his coattails or are they worried he will pick them next?
"I think it's a combination of both of those things. People want to ride on his coattails and they're also afraid of him - there's not going to be a final five, someone's going to have to be voted out. Another thing is that people may want to go to the end with Russell because they know they can beat him at the jury based on the vindictive and crazy game he played."

What's your take on his gameplay?
"He played an excellent game but he's the player people love to hate. He's played a very aggressive game and so it's going to turn on whether or not people respect the fact of how far he has gone in the game or consider him a major threat and realize that he shouldn't go to the finals with them."

John suggested that Russell was the "greatest player in the history of Survivor". Would you agree?
"I would say no. I personally think that Parvati is the greatest player who has ever played. I think Russell has played a great game, an aggressive game, and he's gone really far into the game. He still has a lot of work to do and he has to get into the final two or three or whatever it is, and he still has to win, which he has been saying is so easy to do! I think he definitely underestimated the social game and was a bit too vindictive and deceitful, and didn't really pay attention to the fact that he had to play up to the jury and win their votes. It's going to depend on how people look at that and how they perceived him."

Can he really win the $1 million?
"If he makes a strong enough argument at jury, absolutely. But he will have to really sit there and make a strong argument, and I hope he's put a lot of thought into that if that is the case!"

Can you respect the way Shambo is playing the game on emotion?
"Different people have different approaches and knowing Shambo and her perception of things and what's important to her, I can based on the fact that she was pretty isolated and didn't feel as involved in the Galu clique as everyone else did. I think if I had been put in that position, I would be more apt to flip rather than not flip, so I can respect that. However, it did interfere with my game so that is really frustrating to me."

Were you really out to get John from the time of the merger or was that a misperception on his part?
"No, I was out to get him from before that. I knew that he was out to get me when we went out for the pizza challenge and Tribal Council was cancelled."

How did you know he was out to get you?
"Before that, Eric had brought up John as someone that he wanted voted out to Laura and me, so we thought, 'OK, if that's who he wants out, let's play on this weakness'. But he tried to turn it around and told John we were out to get him. At the end of the day, it was Eric that walked away with his hands dirty and got voted out as a result. I also knew because Kelly would tell us what the boys were saying and the boys obviously wanted me out and saw my alliance with Laura as a pretty strong threat against them."

What would you do differently if you had the chance?
"I would have voted for one of the Foa Foas other than Russell the day he played the immunity idol that sent Kelly home."

What did you learn about yourself being on Survivor
"How strong I can be. I'm strong mentally and physically and my positive outlook in life can serve me in times when I'm down and out. It helped me prepare for the rest of the journey of my life. It was a huge learning experience about how I react to people, interact with people and respond to highly stressful situations. I was really proud of myself."

What was the hardest part of the experience?
"It's hard to single out which part is the hardest. Hunger is a hard part, it's intense. Before we got the blankets, it was freezing at night, I was freezing cold and shivering! And leaving my family - I didn't realize how important it is to stay in touch with people by phone or text, just to stay in touch with the people who love you."