Last night was another Survivor episode. They changed the rules by having the two tribes come together on one beach without actually merging. Both sides assumed that it was a merge. It was interesting to see how the survivors handled what they thought was a merge. Some tried to ingratiate themselves with the members of the other tribe while others held back. The episode started with each member of a tribe selecting one of five colors of body paint. They then used the paint to decorate their bodies. Sort of a Halloween theme. The tribe members from each tribe with the same paint color were paired off to get acquainted. Some played it close to the vest, while others just spilled their guts about their team mates. The immunity challenge had the two tribes competing against each other instead of individually. Each survivor was handcuffed and fitted with leg braces. Each tribe was put in a bamboo cell. The idea was to some how get the 15 keys that were outside the cell to unlock the cuffs and braces, and then dig out of the cell. I missed how this applied to Thailand, but there's probably some connection. It makes me wonder when the first jail or prison was built. It's kind of a peculiar solution for punishment when you think about it. Whatever happened to an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth. Probably too uncivilized.
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In the end, Shi Ann was voted off the island. She was the one who had been the most friendly with the opposing tribe when they thought there had been a merge. This was viewed as a betrayal by her team mates and she was gone.
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I felt a little bit sorry for Shi Ann. She reminded me of a woman that I knew at work about 10 years ago. Shi Ann felt alienated from her tribe, partly because of cultural differences in the way she was raised. For instance, she had different eating habits than her team mates. She ate parts of a chicken that no one else would touch. It's a little sad that someone can be a citizen of this country and yet never truly feel like they belong. My co-worker was also Asian-American like Shi Ann. She was born in the USA. I remember one time we went on a team outing to a Chinese restaurant. Everyone else on the team, who was white, was given a fork. They gave her chopsticks even though she's an American. It was a little thing, but it probably made her feel like an outsider to the team and to America. I asked for chopsticks.