« All News

Search RealityWanted News

Loading

 

 

 

 


 



 


 

 

 

Naked and Afraid Interview with Jennifer of Udhampur Episode

Posted on 05/22/2015 by Elizabeth in Naked And Afraid and Cast Interviews

| More

By Ashley Thompson

 

Jen may not have been the most experienced survivalist in India but we've gotten a chance to ask her some questions and she may just change your mind about her.

 

RW: How were you cast?
Jen: I went on to the Discovery website and went to the Naked and Afraid page and filled out the application online. It was like a paragraph on why I'd be good for the show. I submitted the application and they called me a few months later.

 

RW: Did you do anything to stand out?
Jen: I said that I'm a bartender and you know, that helps with patience. I kind of got into my experience camping across the U.S. They called me and then I had to send in different videos.

 

RW: How did you prepare for the challenge?
Jen: I gained as much weight as I could so it was the best spring ever! ::laughs:: I left in May. I was just bulking and gained as much weight as I could. I used Tough Foot for walking around barefoot. I just hiked and tried to do as many things as I could... getting fires started and lots o little things.

 

RW: How long did it take to put weight back on after your 21 days?
Jen: Oh my goodness... I want to say it probably took me about 6 months to get back to my normal weight. I had a lot of malnutrition issues and my calves were so swollen that my toes were black and blue. The doctor said it was because I was so malnourished and dehydrated. I was eating 150 grams of protein a day. I weight 97 pounds so... it was definitely tough. I would say about 6 months to get back to normal.

 

RW: You got to indulge before the challenge and pack on the protein after the challenge, what was your diet like during the challenge? We watched the scorpion and bird dinners but didn't see much else.
Jen: We didn't get to eat much. We got frog legs... we'd sit by the water hole and caught as many frogs as we possibly could but we kind of ate all of the frogs ::laughs::. They were small frogs. Very minimal, we didn't have a substantial amount of food sources readily available to us.

 

RW: We watched the bickering about the water boil time limits where you preferred a 10 minute minimum boil time. Do you agree with Trenton about you having acute mountain sickness or do you think it could have been the water?
Jen: Absolutely. I definitely think it could have been mountain sickness and the elevation. It was nausea, dizzy, disorienting. It was the second day, we slept and I woke up and I was so sick. Honestly, I boiled my water for 10 minutes and he boiled his for 5.

 

RW: So you actually separated your drinking water?
Jen: Yeah, we came to a compromise. Initially we were both doing it for the 10 minutes but I kept boiling mine for 10. I stood my ground on that one.

 

RW: What did you think when Trenton left the shelter during the storm?
Jen: At the moment I was like, 'this is dramatic... what a baby' ::laughs::. But I obviously saw his point of view and he saw mine. I can't believe the condition we were in that we were able to reason with each other. Ultimately I couldn't have asked for a better partner. Everything he did he was willing to compromise.

 

RW: What do you think you contributed since you were lacking experience?
Jen: Obviously my positive attitude was my biggest contribution. We both got firewood, I built the fire at night. I boiled water while he was doing other things. Getting frogs and berries and things that unfortunately got edited out. I learned the hard way that I'm more of an adventurist than a survivalist.

 

RW: At the end of the challenge he seemed willing to return the positivity favor so he must have appreciated that.
Jen: We speak all the time. We're always texting and emailing so we've obviously formed a friendship. We had a heart-to-heart. He realized what I was doing there and I realized what he was doing there and even though we were there for different reasons at the end of the day the 21 days was our goal.

 

RW: Did you miss technology and things like texting while you were in India?
Jen: The first morning you wake up and you're like, 'I'm naked in the middle of India... where is my cell phone' ::laughing::. There's so many hours in the day that you're consciously aware of and you're wishing for a book or a radio or anything to get through the monotony of it. It was something to get used to being completely bare.

 

RW: Was the wild fire scary?
Jen: I'm not familiar with forest fires and how fast they can turn, you hear terrible stories, and we're in the middle of it. We don't even have shoes to get out in a hurry if we needed to. It was definitely a very real situation and it got very real very fast. You realize you're naked.

 

RW: Did you leave your shelter standing when you left?
Jen: We left it standing. We both hope that some person or something somewhere appreciating the awesomeness that was that shelter. It was amazing.

 

RW: It was so impressive that it was the first time we've seen someone slam a door on Naked and Afraid...
Jen: ::laughing:: He was pissed! The door came in a few days later and it was solid. We picked it up and it probably weighed 20 pounds. At some point you're pushing it out because you can't pick it up. It weighs more than my jeep door ::laughs::.

 

RW: Did you feel undermined ever during the challenge?
Jen: I feel like he doubted my abilities and I feel as if it wasn't his job to teach me. Obviously we both should have been as skilled as him so I understand his disappointment. But I have a good head on my shoulders so if he could have given me more direction I feel I could have done more of what he needed. I felt he immediately dismissed anything I could say.

 

RW: During extraction you were having a really hard time. Did you feel that you wouldn't make it during the final trek?
Jen: I was terrified that I made it that far and I was not medically going to make it. My mind my brain wanted to keep pushing through but my body was giving up on me. It was such a strange feeling to know that I was physically incapable of doing this. He's an EMT and seeing the worry in his eyes made me feel like maybe I'm not going to make this. He grabbed my hand and I just got up and did it. It was terrible.

 

RW: Were you happy with your PSR scores?
Jen: I am. It could have been a lot worse. I'm definitely happy it went up and they were very gracious and realized maybe it's not just the practical skills but also the emotional skills that come into play as well.

 

RW: Would you do it again?
Jen: I'm insane and I probably would. If you would have asked me the morning after definitely not. But I've kind of forgotten how hard it was ::laughs:: it's not right there any more so I feel like I would try it again and do a little better next time.

 

RW: How would you prepare differently if given another chance?
Jen: I would obviously call Trenton immediately and ask him for some advice ::laughs::. Figure out what I'm lacking and what he thinks I should focus on most. And then I would attempt to find a class and hopefully not disappoint my future partner.

 

RW: Was there anything edited out that you would've have liked shown?
Jen: Um.... I mean... I think maybe little more of me fooling around ::laughs::. Of me doing other things. But honestly I'm happy with the way everything turned out.

 

RW: What's your favorite part of being home?
Jen: Oh, so many things. Water. Clean water. Having strength. Not being afraid. Not being naked or afraid ::laughing::.

 

Photo credit: Discovery Channel

 


  


Rate this article

  • Currently 0.0/5

Rating: 0.00/5 (0 votes cast) (Log in to vote!)


blog comments powered by Disqus

Go back to the previous page