“I’m Not a Bossy Person” – An Interview with Survivor: Cook Island’s Cristina
by David Bloomberg -- 10/20/2006

Cristina was viewed as “bossy,” but she definitely has a different take on things. What does she have to say about her time on Survivor? Who were the “awful people” she mentioned in her final words on the show? Why does she feel she was taken advantage of? And what does she believed overshadowed everything? Read on to find out in this RealityNewsOnline interview!

Cristina was probably the person who had “survived” the most before coming onto Survivor. What did she think of the way she was portrayed and the way she was treated? Read on as she tells all!

RealityNewsOnline: What did you first think when you found out the tribes were divided by race?

Cristina: Initially I was kind of shocked – wow, that’s controversial. But I was sure they were not going to do something stupid. It was an interesting move. I don’t think it was a big thing, because there was diversity in each race. We had people from diff places, same with the Asian tribe. It was very interesting. You really don’t have one race that’s completely a certain race. I think there were more problems with personality than there were with race.

RNO: What was your strategy coming into the game?

Cristina: I didn’t really feel like I had a strategy. Being a police officer, I have to be a role model and there is life after the game. Little kids are going to be watching. If I can win the game that way , then I win. If I can’t, I still have to deal with my job and people, so I didn’t really have a strategy.

RNO: What did you do to prepare yourself for the show?

Cristina: In my job we work out, I keep myself in shape. I read a lot of survival type books, including those they told us to read, like those about making fire or getting food. I just mentally prepared myself too. Once out there I had to go with the flow and whatever happens, happens.

RNO: Before Adam spoke up at Tribal Council, did you have any idea what some of your tribemates thought of you?

Cristina: No. I had a feeling something was going on because they were being rude to me. I was going to say something at one time but I thought maybe it’s just me. But it all came out at Tribal Council. I was pretty surprised because we talked about how we were all family or friends.

RNO: Did you pretty much know you were going home going into your last Tribal Council, or did you think you might have convinced enough people to let you stay?

Cristina: I had a feeling I was going home. Even though I tried and humbled myself, I figured they were going to make up their minds and decide what they wanted to decide. I had to try. Once we got to Tribal Council, I realized that’s it.

RNO: In your final words, you said you felt taken advantage of. What did you mean?

Cristina: I sort of said the wrong thing. I just probably wasn’t appreciated for what I did. I really worked my butt off, I cooked, I helped around camp, I went to go get wood and water. I wasn’t just sitting there waiting for others to do it for me. That’s part of growing up and being part of a team or a family as they called it. I just felt I really worked hard and took the initiative, and by taking the initiative they looked at it as being bossy. Their interpretation and my interpretation are totally different.

RNO: Who would you classify as the “awful people” you mentioned in your final words?

Cristina: People who I disliked included Jenny, Adam, and even Rebecca, who came across one way but was acting another. I was really disappointed. Brad is a great person and really sincere. I never felt he backstabbed me. Parvati didn’t really pick a side. Nate, I dunno. I thought I could trust him and maybe I had a chance with him and he was flexible. The people I really didn’t get along with the most were Adam and Jenny.

RNO: Looking back, what do you now think about the idea of throwing the challenge back in the original Aitu tribe?

Cristina: Even at the time, I thought it was a wrong thing and a stupid move – you need numbers. By doing that we’re throwing off somebody and we needed people. Later on we could have dealt with it. I thought it was a very stupid move. Me voting Billy off – he knew I was doing that. He was sick, not eating or drinking. I knew he wasn’t going to do well. I told him he was sick and he needed to get off and he understood that.

RNO: Did you try to signal Raro to "kidnap" you?

Cristina: No. at that point, I figured they would want somebody bigger who would weaken the tribe. If they heard what was going on, they probably thought I’d have the same problems with them.

RNO: Do you feel you were portrayed accurately?

Cristina: No. I don’t feel that at all. There’s a lot of editing done, that’s part of the show. You need excitement so you need some kind of drama. Being a police officer overshadowed me being a person. I could have come in lying and pretending. But I’m very proud of being a police officer and wanted to come in being a role model and being honest and having morals and values. It was very interesting how everything was played. I take my job seriously. I don’t think I did anything to portray myself in a negative way. I hope the public realizes I’m not a bossy person. I try to help out.

RNO: What did you think of the last challenge?

Cristina: It was an interesting challenge. Initially, we were told you couldn’t choke or use control holds – Jeff looked at me a lot when he said that. That was a concern because of my arm. When I was holding onto that pole and Flica chocked me, Jeff yelled at her but she continued. I’m not going to sit there and get hurt, so I’m going to do what I have to do. At that point I was grabbing for shorts or tops or hair – whatever I could do to get her to stop. It was pretty disappointing. And she made the comment about wrestling a cop and people laughed. I thought it was disrespectful. But that overshadowed me being who I am, that was prejudicial and I don’t think that was right.

RNO: If you could go back in time, what would you do differently?

Cristina: Probably not voted J.P. off. He was a really good guy and I wish I had the time to get to know him, but you don’t have that luxury. Probably not been so vocal with my opinions or comments about certain things – been a little more laid back.

RNO: Is there anything else you’d like to tell us about your time on Survivor?

Cristina: it was a great experience and I was so honored to be chosen. It was once in a lifetime and I met some really good people. How they portrayed me and how disrespectful people can be – not just to me but how they singled out a police officer – for somebody to be disrespectful to any police officer is just rude.

RNO: Thanks, Cristina!