thought: Nothing comes good from lying and it will greatly hurt your chances of success.
But most importantly, I watched the webcast for the socials because the social is the main event for the romance tour. This was where I would meet hundreds of women in just a few days.
The agency had scheduled three socials for my romance tour. The first two were on Friday and Saturday nights in Barranquilla at the ballroom of the hotel I would be staying at. The third social would be a beach social in Santa Marta, which is a short distance from Barranquilla by bus.
During each social, I would meet from 80 to 120 different women depending on how many men were on the tour. The agency likes a ratio of 8 to 10 ladies to each man in order to give their clients the best opportunity to make successful matches. Meeting so many women would give me the best chance to find chemistry and a connection with a woman.
I watched these webcasts to learn as much as possible about the socials because – for me – I am more nervous when I do not know what to expect and I wanted to be as relaxed as possible on the tour and at the socials.
These webcasts helped prepare me for my big adventure; they were an excellent guide, which offered me the best opportunity for success on my romance tour.
Chapter Four
The TV Crew Comes to Houston
One night, about four weeks before the tour, while I was watching a car race on TV, John, the owner of the agency, called me.
“How are you?” I asked.
John said, “David, I received a call from the producer of a TV show and they would like to film the tour you will be attending. What do you think?”
“Which show is it?”
John said, “It’s a new documentary show hosted by Lisa Ling that will be on a new cable network that begins in January. They ask me not to go into any more detail at this time, but I can say they are well respected.”
“Okay I understand, what’s the show’s theme?” I asked.
John said, “I do not know exactly. But after talking with the producer, it sounds like they are going to film stories with an open mind and no preconceived notions. This story is not going to be an investigation story, but one just showing real men and women looking for love and marriage in an unconventional way.”
“That sounds good. I am not embarrassed about my decision to go on a romance tour, so I have a no problem with a camera crew.”
“Great,” John said. “Also would it be alright if a producer called you for a phone interview?”
“Sure,” I said. In my mind, I was thinking that it would be a good opportunity to eliminate some of the negative stigma that surrounded international dating. I knew that I was going on this tour for the opportunity to find a life partner – not for sex. And I knew that the agency was a reputable company that actually helps men find their life partners.
I called Bob after talking with John, who had suggested the tour in the first place, to find out what he thought of the camera crew going on the tour. Bob told me he was not too crazy about the camera crew. He thought the cameras would be too distracting and wanted his privacy. So Bob decided not to go and would instead reschedule to go on tour later in the year. He also explained that when he did go on a romance tour, he wanted to be able to concentrate 100 percent on looking for the right woman. I was disappointed he wasn’t coming along but I understood his point of view.
As for me, it didn’t bother me I was raring to go.
Bill, the Assistant Producer for the show, called me the next day while I was at work and we talked for 30 minutes or so. It was a good interview and I liked Bill he seemed like a nice guy. He also explained that they might do a television interview with 2 men at the airport before arriving in Barranquilla and wanted to know if it was O.K. to do the interview with me, if they chose me. I said sure.
Bill called me several more times in the following days. The more we talked, the more comfortable I felt. He asked me many questions about my past, about dating in America, my daughter and her thoughts of me going on the tour, what my friends and family thought about the tour, etc. He wanted to know what I expected on the tour, my work, and how I lived my life on a daily basis. I explained that I was just an Average Joe who went to work, mowed my lawn and cooked dinner every night. I also explained that I believed romance tours had the potential to be an exceptional way to find your life partner.
The next day, the producer of the show, Darcy Dennett, called me. She told me they would like to come to Houston and film me for a half-day the weekend before I traveled. I said yes because I thought it would be a cool experience to see how these shows are created and I would have a front row seat.
I kept thinking: How many times does one get a chance to experience something like this? I was very excited about it, to tell you the truth. But I was nervous. I have always been a little self-conscious, so I hoped I would be able to relax in front of the camera and not freeze up, or stutter when I talked. I had no experience whatsoever talking in public and wasn’t sure how I would appear to others on television.
Darcy called me back two days later and asked if they could film me not just for a half day, but for one and a half days. They wanted to follow me and show me going through my everyday routines – my normal life in Houston, Texas. I thought it sounded kind of boring, but they assured me that it would add interest to the story. Darcy said they would only be filming me before the tour – not any of the other guys. They had decided to focus on me and make me the main character for the show. I felt highly complimented, honored and quite surprised.
You would think that I would have run out to get my haircut, hire a cleaning crew to come clean my home, or mow the lawn before the camera crew arrived. But, I didn’t. My house always stays clean anyway, and the plan was to film me getting my haircut and cutting the grass.
So, the weekend before the romance tour, the television crew would arrive in Houston to film me. I was looking forward to the experience, but got more nervous each day before they arrived. I didn’t know what to expect.
On Friday night, the camera crew arrived. They came to my house loaded down with their cameras, tripods and lights. We talked for a little bit just to get relaxed and comfortable. Then, they filmed me driving into my garage like I was coming home from work. Next, they filmed me microwave my TV dinner, which I thought was funny. America would see that I ate TV dinners. If that wasn’t boring enough, they then filmed me sitting down in my easy chair and watching TV while I ate. It felt extremely boring to me, but they insisted that they wanted to get the “normal routines” of my life on camera.
This is when I learned to get used to having the camera on me. At first, it was difficult because it is natural to want look at the camera and see what is happening around you. But once I was able to ignore the crew and the camera, it became easy and I relaxed like no one was there. I have heard people on reality TV shows like Survivor and The Bachelor say the same things. After a while, you forget the camera is even there.
On Saturday, besides all the other things they filmed like packing my suitcase, driving my car in the countryside, and mowing the lawn, they sat down to do a one-on-one interview. That really wasn’t easy. The studio lights are glaring in your face like huge, bright flashlights, while you sit in a chair with the camera about 10 feet from you. Darcy stood next to the camera and asked me questions. She asked me questions that put me on the spot and weren’t
