Pinoy Big Brother: Double Up - Big Brother Swap

Big Brother Swap

It was announced by the program on Day 21 (October 24, 2009) that another Big Brother Swap would take place. This time, one from either House would trade places with another housemate from another foreign edition of Big Brother. This would also be the second time that Pinoy Big Brother linked up with other foreign versions of the show, Season 2 being the first, when housemate Bruce Quebral traded places with Tina Semolič from the first season of Big Brother Slovenia.

On Day 26, it was announced by the host that the show would be swapping housemates with Big Brother Finland's fifth season. On Oct. 29, 2009, ABS-CBN's Youtube channel, iABS-CBN, uploaded a video confirming that the housemate from Big Brother Finland who will swap places in the Philippines is Kätlin Laas (video), a 22-year-old food processing plant worker originally from Rakvere, Estonia but migrated to Finland at the age of 16, and is currently living in Seinäjoki, Finland. On Day 27, it was announced that Cathy from Group A, then currently living in House B, would be swapping with Kätlin and would be going to Finland to live in their Big Brother House for a week. Cathy's selection was made through a series of tasks on which the housemates underwent on the watchful eyes of the Finnish producers.

Kätlin left the Big Brother Finland House on Day 26 (Day 66 of the Finnish version) and enter either Philippine House on Day 29 (Day 69 of the Finnish version). She was supposed to arrive in the Philippines and enter either House the day before, but her flight was delayed due to weather disturbances caused by Typhoon Santi. Hours before her entrance, she had a brief appearance on the show The Buzz. On the other hand, Cathy was supposed to leave in the morning of Day 28 (Day 68 of the Finnish version) but their flight was postponed to a later hour of the day.

Much like the first Big Swap, events from both Houses are chronicled. Also, all conversations in English are subtitled in Filipino and all Finnish conversations and confessions are dubbed over by Filipino voice actors. For the Finnish version, clips from the Philippine house are shown in the Big Brother Extra show, while conversations in English are subtitled in Suomi.

The Big Swap started on the evening of Day 29 (Day 69 of the Finnish version). Kätlin initially stayed in House A upon her arrival on Day 29. She transferred to House B on Day 31. On Day 32, Cathy and Kätlin were finally able to meet through a video call through Skype. Later that day, Kätlin returned to House A. She left the Philippine House on the morning of Day 34 (early morning of Day 74 of the Finnish version). She was briefly interviewed for the morning show Umagang Kay Ganda just after stepping outside the front door. Meanwhile, Cathy entered on the evening of Day 69 of the Finnish version (early morning of Day 30 of the Philippines version). She left six days later on the evening of Day 74 of the Finnish version (early morning of Day 35 of the Philippine version), signaling the end of the Big Swap.

Kätlin left the Philippines the same day she left the Pinoy Big Brother house and re-entered their house in the early morning of Day 75 of the Finnish version (Day 35 of the Philippine version). Cathy left Finland the morning after she left the Finnish Big Brother house and re-entered the Pinoy Big Brother house on the evening of Day 36 (Day 76 of the Finnish version).

Below is a list of activities each swapped housemate did in their respective host country's Houses, aside from introductions and trading of basic phrases:

Kätlin In House A:
  • Had a tropical-themed welcoming party.
  • Learned and sang the song Maalaala Mo Kaya (Will You Remember in English), together with Tom.
  • Participated in a water soccer game in which her team won (with Rob, Tom and Yuri) and ate Filipino exotic foods (frog legs, crickets, balut, fried worms and snails) as a reward. Patria acted as referee.

In House B:

  • Brought plov, an Estonian dish, which is like a casserole with rice, beef or lamb, onions, carrots and ketchup.
  • Learned the dance Pandanggo sa Ilaw with the housemates.
  • Participated in a parlor game involving inline skates and her country's flag, where her team, an all-female team, lost. Tibo acted as referee.
  • Acted as referee in several spider fighting matches.
  • Had a jacuzzi party with Filipino street food (chicken head, chicken feet and chicken blood to name a few) foods, vodka and palm wine (locally known as tuba).
  • As instructed by Big Brother's Finnish counterpart, Kätlin taught a Finnish song Ihmisten Edessä (In Front of People in English), and had to choreograph a corresponding dance with the housemates.
Cathy
  • Played a game called pököpallo, invented by the Finnish housemates, a game similar to the French game pétanque.
  • Had a sauna and jacuzzi welcoming party.
  • Learned and sang the song ‘’Sininen Ja Valkoinen’’ (Blue and White in English), together with all the Finnish housemates.
  • Learned different winter sports and activities, including cross-country skiing, ice fishing, ice hockey, floorball and pesäpallo or Finnish baseball, Finland’s national sport, demonstrated by Antti, Aso and Sampo.
  • Had an Asian dinner with the housemates.
  • Experienced her first snow fall. Her housemates made a snowman for her, which she named Chuva Choo Choo.
  • Taught the housemates the Wowowee game Hep Hep, Hooray.
  • Cooked Adobo for the Finnish housemates.
  • Served as the judge in the Head of Household competition, which involved the housemates singing Sininen Ja Valkoinen.
  • Had a Christmas dinner with the housemates.

Also, both Philippine and Finnish houses had weekly tasks involving housemates doing a 30-minute cultural variety show portraying their countries' cultures to their visitors. The Filipino housemates should include Kätlin in their presentation while the Finnish housemates should work four at a time in the upstairs room while Cathy is not around. However, it was later revealed that the real weekly task of the Filipino housemates is to make Kätlin feel the Filipino hospitality, to which she felt that both houses were friendly, yet she felt more warmth with House A.

More than three weeks after the Swap ended, on Day 97 of the fifth Finnish season, Kätlin was proclaimed as second placer, behind Aso.

Read more about this topic:  Pinoy Big Brother: Double Up

Famous quotes containing the words big, brother and/or swap:

    “Schools of fish come to those who wait patiently; if the big ones don’t come, the little ones will.”
    —Chinese proverb.

    “So the brother in black offers to these United States the source of courage that endures, and laughter.”
    —Zora Neale Hurston (1891–1960)

    “If we should swap a good library for a second-rate stump speech and not ask for boot, it would be thoroughly in tune with our hearts. For deep within each of us lies politics. It is our football, baseball, and tennis rolled into one. We enjoy it; we will hitch up and drive for miles in order to hear and applaud the vitriolic phrases of a candidate we have already reckoned we’ll vote against.”
    —Federal Writers’ Project Of The Wor, U.S. public relief program (1935-1943)