Interview With Caryn Groedel of Survivor: Palau
Posted on Mon 20 Jun 2005 (2229 reads)
by Hildee Weiss Caryn, congratulations on making it so far on Survivor: Palau. Tell us about how you prepared for the casting on the show. My middle daughter encouraged me to do the show. She and I were fans of the show. Except for the first installment, I had never missed an episode. She said ‘you can do it, Mom.’ I wasn’t inclined. I wasn’t interested. She downloaded the application for me and helped me with my three minute video. I submitted it and I got a callback. I submitted the tape in June of 2004. I found out in the beginning of July that I made it to the semi-finals, which were in July. I left for Palau on October 25. How did you get along wth your castmates? I got along with everybody except Katie. Tom and I really had a friendship. We bonded because we were the only parents in the tribe. We took a lot of walks together, talked, went fishing together. It was more of a friendship than an alliance. He kept me in the loop as to what was going on, alliance wise, who was staying, who was going and who was on the chopping block. Did it help to know ahead of time that you were leaving or would you have rather not known? It doesn’t help or hurt to know what’s happening. Everybody feels vulnerable. No one feels 100 percent secure. For me, it would be better to know. I wouldn’t want to be shocked and thrown totally off balance. I appreciated that I knew. I knew it was time and that it why I spoke out the way I did. I knew the women weren’t going to be strong enough for the all-woman alliance to go all the way. What were your impressions of Gregg? Gregg was really nice and hard working. I didn’t feel that he was going behind my back. We had a lot in common in terms of setting goals and taking steps to reach those goals. He’s a very nice guy and he was a hard worker around camp. He wasn’t cocky or bossy. What about Jenn? Jenn was good at the challenges. I have to say that. She wasn’t outright mean. She didn’t work hard around camp. She didn’t make an effort to know everybody. Do you keep in touch with any of the survivors? I keep in touch with Coby and Gregg and Stephanie and Wanda and Angie. Really with several people. I also keep in touch with Bobby Jon. I’ve spoken to Tom. Almost everybody. How has your life been post-Survivor? There was a lot of excitement and buzz when the game was on. Judges I worked with wanted to know what was going on. Lawyers I worked with wanted to know what was going on. I could barely get any work done because there was so much talk about Survivor. After the finale, everything died down. I’m still doing speaking engagements and appearances. I would say my life is 70 percent back. Things are winding down. Thanks for your time Caryn, and we wish you the best in your future endeavors!

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