Entertainment
Teen Roughing It Learns More Than 'Endurance'
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Published: October 10, 2007
GIBSONTON Giving up the cell phone and going without television, hair conditioning products and warm showers was bad enough. But that toilet in the wild was disgusting, says Jordyn Barbato.
The 14-year-old says her adventures on "Endurance: Fiji" taught her to appreciate the comforts of home.
"The bathroom — oh my God — it was just a 10-foot hole in the ground," she recalls.
Jordyn, a journalism major at Tampa Bay Tech, was one of 16 teens, ages 12 to 15, who competed on the Discovery Kids Channel's reality show that is like a PG version of "Survivor." Set on the island of Fiji, the sixth season of "Endurance" debuts at 8:30 p.m. Saturday on Discovery Kids.
"It was the best experience of my life," says Jordyn, who can't reveal what happens or how far she progresses on the series.
In 2005, then 14-year-old Brandon teen Lindi Oest made it all the way to the final episode of "Endurance: Hawaii" and won a trip to the Galapagos Islands.
The 16 competitors for "Endurance: Fiji" were selected from more than 10,000 who applied and submitted audition tapes to the network's Web site (kids.discovery.com).
Jordyn's first audition tape was made just days before the deadline in May. She says her cousin, Madison Stanek, 17, helped her record and edit it.
"I did a lot of silly things like pushing my mother's car down the street to show how strong I am," Jordyn says. "I was laughing and talking the whole time."
She's not sure why she was chosen but suspects the producers may have liked her personality.
Jordyn's mother, Kiera Barbato, says trying out for the show was her daughter's idea.
"She's a funny character," Kiera says. "It was amazing that she was picked from all those entries."
There was a call-back from the producers, and Jordyn had to make a second audition tape. This time, she showed off her athletic skill, demonstrating how she plays soccer and basketball and how long she can stand on one leg.
In August, Jordyn and her mother traveled to Fiji. Kiera stayed at an island resort with the other parents. Jordyn's father, Darnell, stayed in Gibsonton with Jordyn's 6-year-old sister, Liea.
There was a little culture shock for mother and daughter, Kiera says.
"It was an amazing, surreal experience," she says. "It was such a beautiful place, and I got to do things I had never done. I went snorkeling, and there was the experience of meeting the other parents."
Shyness Ebbs Away For Girl
Meanwhile, Jordyn was roughing it without any modern conveniences.
"But that wasn't the hardest part," Jordyn says "It was being away from my mom and meeting all these new people that I didn't know. I had thought of myself as kind of shy, but I made friends with every single one of them."
Hosted by J.D. Roth, who is also the creator and producer, this latest round of "Endurance" has the youngsters facing a variety of physical and mental challenges.
The competition involves forming two-member teams that try to accumulate "pyramid pieces" by winning the challenges. Each piece represents a human quality such as strength, heart, courage, perseverance, trust, leadership or discipline. This year, a new piece, karma, has been added.
The first team to collect 14 pieces can win a fantasy vacation.
"Endurance" is more than just a reality competition, Roth says.
"It is a life-altering experience for every kid who is selected," he says. "These kids learn to dig deep within themselves when someone says they can't do something. They learn to overcome first impressions and prejudice, and they build tremendous self-confidence by tapping into skills they never even knew they had."
She's Flush With New Gratitude
Jordyn says the competition was "fun, really, really fun" and Fiji was fascinating.
"When we got there, I saw that we would be staying in little bamboo huts and sleeping in bags on wooden beds," she says. "There was sand on the floor and sand in the beds, but it was so beautiful there. The huts were right on the shore, and the water was so clear. It was breezy. The weather was good."
But the showers were primitive and the toilet was outside.
"The first thing I did when I left was use a proper toilet, and then I took a shower," Jordyn says.
Her mother says her daughter was already mature, but she came back with an appreciation for many of the simple things some take for granted.
"I throw together a simple meal of ravioli and she says it's great," Kiera adds. "I recently got laid off from my job with a home builder as a result of the housing slump, and Jordyn has been very understanding about not asking for things we can't afford right now."
Jordyn says she will miss the debut of the show on Saturday night because she plans to attend Tampa Bay Tech's homecoming dance.
"We're going to tape it and have a little watching party after the dance," she says.
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