Board Thread:General Discussion/@comment-1294345-20130304112037/@comment-4062486-20130304185542

'''Gerda, congratulations. What's your highlight in the game? What's your secret in winning the game? And finally, now that you won the title of Sole Survivor, what questions will you ask Dawson?'''

Thanks! Well my highlight besides winning the overall game was definitely winning that last immunity challenge. At one point it started to seem to me and the rest of the remaining Popoki alliance (or ZAG as we are referred to by the other players) that Sole was unbeatable. So for me to actually beat him in a challenge (having previously been very close to winning a challenge) felt really great. That challenge was definitely tiring yet fun at the same time, especially making the video of course. Also, besides this was of course the Touchy Subjects challenge where I was voted the most good looking person after Gerard (which girl doesn't like to be called beautiful, haha) and the most trustworthy person of the tribe. These votes truly honored me.

My secret I would say is pretty obvious: do not make enemies. I did participate in voting off people from this game (which is natural), but I never offended anyone during it and I think this is one of the things that really helped me. Also, I was in a strong alliance from the start which also really helped. What made us strong was the fact that we really trusted each other and discussed often. Zion was definitely my rock in this game, our sub-alliance definitely worked out well. Also, becomeing friends with people from other tribes helped me a lot as well. When it came to the challenges, there was really no secret. I just invested a whole lot of time into the them, especially the word search (must have taken me about 12 hours) and the final challenge (the video alone took me a whole day). So those of you that thought I wasn't playing the game or wasn't even serious about it.. you were very wrong. I took it very seriously, even too seriously at times. You really cannot judge a book by it's cover. And of course, what really helped me win was getting Sole off the game, because I was 100% sure that I could not win with him in the game. He is like Ozzy: let them both into final three and those guys will win big time. It took a lot out of me to actually beat him at a challenge though.

As for Dawson, I have many questions. I want to definitely get to know her as a person, so I will ask some questions about who she works as and what hobbies she has etc. I don't want her to feel like she is on a job interview, but I hope this will be like a casual and fun conversation for both of us. And yes, there are of course loads of Survivor-themed questions I want to ask from her. Like for example, I really want to know how she actually managed to become a castaway and how hard the whole process of getting into the show was. Also, I want to know how life in the Kalabaw tribe was and what Penner and Carter and Denise were like. One of the most important things I want to know is also what exactly happened to Dana (one of my favorites from Philippines) and how hard the challenges were for Dawson personally. I'm really looking forward to my call with her. She seems like a really nice and fun loving person and I think we will have a lot of fun. :)

'''Gerda, what was going through your mind when you were scrolling down the final Jury Results thread and when I was about to read the final vote? And what was the first thing that came to your mind when you found out you won?'''

I think one of my main thoughts was "God, please help me win." As I was scrolling down, I saw that Alex got more and more votes and I got more scared with each time I saw a parchment with his name on it. Also, I was definitely surprised because I actually thought that Zion was going to get more votes (that guy is really smart and has a gift of foresight like Lord Elrond). Of course, the "Zoin" parchment made amused me and made me a little less nervous. But as I was reaching that final vote my heart was really pounding loudly.

So when I finally found out I won, I could not believe it for a few moments. People in the wiki like Tommy had previously told me that they really believed I could win, but I guess I had lost faith myself at one point. But seeing that final parchment with my name on it, my mouth opened for the widest possible smile and I just laughed of joy for a little while. I felt like all this time and energy I invested into this game had all been worth it.