Stranded in Suriname

Questions to come.

Merge Baby!!!

I just want to personally thank you for this amazing merge color. I'm glad you took my suggestion! :)

I'm ready to see david play balls to the wall <3333

also, the colors were planned pre-season :P

David wrote:

Trashley Markwood wrote:

Thank you!!!

yw. You should grow a beard, Poody should make your merge avi a beardy avi. :)

Hey David. Hope you are enjoying your extra long break from challenges and all that.

How have you been feeling about the merge so far? How have you been getting on with your new tribe ? Do you have any thoughts about who could possibly be the first merge boot and what is your thought process for that?

Also, please size up your competition for me. How are you feeling about your chances of winning at this point in the game?

I'm actually feeling pretty good about this merge. I've been talking to everyone and trying to establish those connections. And I think I'm doing that pretty well. I didn't want to jump right into strategy talk with people because I thought that might seem kind of fake. Instead I just want everyone to think that I really just want to be their friends.

Right now, Sophie seems like a popular choice to be the first gone, and I have mixed feelings about that. On one hand, Sophie is really good at this game and I don't think I will ever trust her fully. Also, I don't think she would hesitate to vote anyone out if it benefitted her, so voting her out might be good. On the other hand, I do think, at least for a short amount of time, that Sophie would try and look out for me as best she can and would be a really good shield for me. But I always feel like she has some kind of ulterior motive. I always feel like there's this wall up whenever I'm talking with her that makes it really difficult for me to put a lot of faith in her. That might just be me though...

Honestly, I think my biggest competition is Liliana. She is smart and kept a huge secret from me. I don't blame her for that, but it makes me aware of the fact that I don't have her full trust. I can't beat her. Sophie is another big competitor, for a lot of the same reasons. Everyone else I feel like I would have a shot against, but those two make me wonder. If I can start making moves and building a resume, then I stand a good chance.

Are you worried that by not strategizing you will be falling out of this quickly or that you will end up in a similar situation as Namibia in not receiving jury votes?

I phrased it poorly. I just don't want my first conversation with someone to be all about strategy and numbers and alliances!! I want my relationships to be a bit more personal upfront, and then build a strategic relationship off of that because then I think that people will want to trust me more. So I start with the personal stuff, then I lead into the strategic stuff. So I don't think I'm headed down the same path. I remember in Namibia I didn't even speak to some of the first few merge boots, so I'm already doing better this time by talking to everybody.