More Whatnot

This might be the weirdest season of “Survivor” ever.

In what other season has food theft, borderline assault and property damage helped you progress in the game? Maybe if Marty wants to stick around longer he should consider cracking someone over the head with the skillet. Well, that is if he can find where NaOnka hid it.

Alina Wilson was the latest victim of this bizarro season, voted off because she was daring enough to try to come up with a voting strategy. I spoke to her the morning after her dismissal to find out if she thinks this topsy-turvy direction is the way “Survivor” is heading, her opinion on Sash’s sexuality, and the truth behind the peculiar nickname she received from Benry…

Gordon Holmes: Alright, first thing’s first…what is a “Dirt Squirrel”?
Alina Wilson: (Laughs) Oh my gosh. The only thing I can think of is I was sleeping in the dirt, and I was always working so I was dirty, and I have a small nose so I kind of resemble a squirrel. Maybe that’s where he (Benry) was going with that. I don’t know. But, if he’d have said it last week I would have had a good idea for a Halloween costume.
Gordon: (Laughs) Cause I was watching it last night and I was thinking, either it’s an adorable thing between the two of them or he’s a total jerk.
Alina: No, I had no idea. I was shocked. I had no idea that he had so much animosity toward me. It was so random and out of nowhere.
Gordon: Do you think Benry may have been one of the driving forces behind sending you home?
Alina: I don’t think he’s smart enough to have done that. I think it was somebody else or a group effort. He wasn’t really running the show.

Gordon: You had an interesting relationship with NaOnka. She hated you at La Flor, you were buddies at Espada, then eventually she hated you again at Espada.
Alina: NaOnka’s like a roller coaster. Like I said on the show, she’s like a girl on her period. You never know what she’s going to do, she’s always all over the place. And from day one I kept a very loose alliance with her. Even when she was such a b—h to Kelly B., I still kind of kept it cool with her. I figured, “Why burn this bridge?” When we joined Espada she really needed someone. I think NaOnka really needs people. She had Brenda, and when she lost Brenda to La Flor she needed a sidekick.
Gordon: Did you think she was actually considering quitting during the rain storm?
Alina: Oh yeah. At that moment I was so happy, I wanted her to quit really badly. I was tired of her. But at that time I needed numbers and she was my numbers. I did my best to encourage her leaving, “Don’t worry, whatever you choose you did good out here.”
Gordon: You were looped into the food theft but you were an accessory after the fact. Do you think that hurt you or were their minds set?
Alina: I completely hated that position I was put in. On one hand I had just realized that everyone had been lying to me and everyone was on NaOnka’s side. So, I really had no choice in the matter. What am I going to do, be a tattletale? Be like, “Hey everybody, I caught her stealing everything.” They would have just hated me more. Which is so weird. So I thought, either I can enjoy these oranges and mangos cause I’m screwed anyway, or try to tattletale and look like an untrustworthy person. They already looked at me like they couldn’t trust me. No matter how mad they’d be at NaOnka, they’d be madder at me for breaching her trust. So, I was between a rock and a hard place.
Gordon: Last night we saw you try to get Fabio onto your side. You wanted Marty to go, but he wanted NaOnka to go. Was there any way you could have gotten your alliance to go along with a NaOnka vote to appease Uncle Fabio?
Alina: NaOnka should have gone a long time ago. In hindsight I could have gone for NaOnka, but here’s the thing; she ended up being the one person who told me the truth about what was going on at Espada. So in that moment she became my only alliance. Nobody else was talking to me or telling me the truth. So, do I turn on my one alliance even though it’s a shaky alliance? That again would put a big target on my back. Everybody always knew that Fabio wanted NaOnka gone. Nobody put a target on his back because it was always a funny thing around camp that he always wanted her gone. But if I’d brought up her name it’d be trouble. They realize that NaOnka is the perfect person to take to the final three because everybody hates NaOnka.

Gordon: Holly’s still around after sinking Dan’s shoes and NaOnka’s stealing food. They’re somewhat safe because they’re good to take to the end. Meanwhile, you and Marty have targets for talking strategy and Kelly B. never had a chance due to her prosthetic leg. Has the game gotten to a point where being horrible is a benefit?
Alina: I don’t know if it’s because I’m on this season, but it’s so different to me than any other season. I’ve never seen anything like this before. People are getting away with murder. I don’t get it. If anything, NaOnka should have gone home last night. She’s a thief. Marty illustrated it perfectly twice this season. When he found out that NaOnka had pushed Kelly B. over, he said “Guys, how did you let her get away with that?” And last night he said, “How is she getting away with this?” I don’t get it. I don’t get how she got away with everything. And it makes me mad. If I had done half the things she did, I’d have been booted a long time ago.
Gordon: You were guilty of this too. Early on you shared Shannon and NaOnka’s belief that Kelly B. should go home quickly because she’d be tough to beat in front of the jury. Is this just the way the game leans now?
Alina: I’m glad you mentioned that, because I wanted to clear that up.
Gordon: Feel free.
Alina: When I mentioned that on the show it was the first day when we found that clue together, and I thought, “Damn, I’m forced into an alliance with someone who is an easy target.” I wasn’t gunning for her at all. I knew that later on she’d be a threat, but not at that point. I didn’t want to align with someone that I knew everyone else was going to target. I knew they’d be thinking, “She’s got to go because of the leg.”

Gordon: How did your time in Nicaragua influence your art? Have you used it as inspiration?
Alina: Oh yeah. Every night when we’d sit on the beach and watch the sunset, I was constantly inspired. I wish I’d had a paint set with me. I brought those memories home, and they still inspire me. And when I watch the show it brings me right back to my days out there. I’m working on a series of pencil drawings that are kind of like in memory of my time out there. There’s a drawing of the boots I was wearing and drawings of the bathing suit and things that I remember. And, it’s turning out pretty good.

Gordon: Alright, let’s bust out some word association. Let’s start with Kelly B.
Alina: Awesome, bad ass, tough girl.
Gordon: NaOnka?
Alina: Psycho, crazy, unpredictable.
Gordon: Brenda?
Alina: Princess, cheerleader.
Gordon: Sash?
Alina: Gay, frustrating, hate the way he talks. Hatred comes to mind.
Gordon: Gay? Does that put you in the Shannon camp?
Alina: Well, good thing you brought that up. It looked like it was random that Shannon said that, but every one of us, even the girls, all sat around and said, “Sash is gay, right?” We all thought he was gay in the first six days. And it’s not like it’s an insult. He just comes across as gay.
Gordon: Is it possible that an entire tribe has broken gaydar?
Alina: I guess we do! We all thought we were right, but I guess not. And it doesn’t really say anything towards him. It’s just how he comes across.
Gordon: Alright, let’s get back into this. Fabio?
Alina: Loofy-doof. My brother in law came up with that word and it just means, “Out there.”
Gordon: Marty?
Alina: Schemer, strategist, involved in himself, very self centered.
Gordon: Chase?
Alina: Chase is a softie. Just a sweetheart softie.
Gordon: Jane?
Alina: Jane is awesome. I just love that woman. Awesome, tough, she knows who she is.
Gordon: And let’s finish this off with your buddy Benry.
Alina: Benry is a tool. He’s totally a tool. He’s a name dropper. He’s a Hollywood boy. He swears he’s the king of everything. He swears girls love him and he’s so full of himself.

Gordon: Sorry if this is out of left field, but can Kelly Purple speak?
Alina: (Laughs) Aww….Kelly Purple. It’s awesome that she’s not getting any airtime. She was someone who was entertaining but irritating. She really had nothing useful to say ever. But at the same time you kind of like her. It’s funny that the one sound bite they gave her was “Umm…you get to milk your own milk.” I love that scene, it was so funny. It was perfect because that’s her personality. I wouldn’t say that she’s a dumb girl, but she really has the most random things to say. People like Kelly Purple and Fabio are just coasting along, and if they’re smart, they’re hiding it. Maybe if I was more of an airhead I would have had a better outcome. I just hate flying under the radar. I didn’t want to do that. You wouldn’t know who I am.
Gordon: Oh I know who you are, you’re G.I. Jane.
Alina: (Laughs) The dirt squirrel made her mark!

Follow Gordon on Twitter for “Survivor updates and news: @gordonholmes