“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 necessarily easy, but surprisingly, I was relaxed and answered them naturally and with ease.
My daughter Laura came over to the house late in the afternoon and they did a one-on-one interview with her outside in front of her truck. She wasn’t crazy about doing it, but she did great and I was very proud of her.
After Laura’s interview, they filmed us at dinner at our favorite Mexican restaurant. That was quite interesting with all the people in the restaurant watching the filming. Overall, I really enjoyed the filming because the crew and producer were very nice and very good people. They knew how to make me relax and feel comfortable with them. By the time it was all over, I felt like we had all been friends for life.
After filming in the restaurant, we all sat down and had dinner together like old friends. Darcy gave me a nice compliment and said I was one of the easiest people to interview and that I was a natural. She said I was the same person on camera as I was “off camera” and that made the filming enjoyable. Not everyone can be natural and themselves on camera, apparently.
One fringe benefit about the filming was that I was so nervous and excited about the camera crew, that it kept my mind off the tour and getting nervous about the socials. It kept me distracted. For me, meeting around 100 women at one time that were interested in meeting me was a little intimidating. Well, O.K. It was very intimidating….not just a little.
After the filming was over though, I thought, Oh no! I’m leaving in just 4 days. I will be leaving in just 4 short days for Barranquilla!
It was all fascinating. The interesting thing is that out of all that filming, only 2 minutes was used for the show. It made me realize just how hard these people work who are in television. They do a lot of filming for just a little bit to air. The camera crew and producers work very hard with little time to stop and rest or eat. Assistants ran to Subway for sandwiches most of the time, and everyone would stop for a moment, eat, and chat about their lives and then back to work.
I learned that the entire television crew lived in New York except for the soundman who was from Florida. The soundman and I had some very good laughs. We would poke fun at each other, and if he jokingly started to pick on me, I would hit my mic and watch him jump because – in his headphone – it would make a very loud, harsh sound!
Then, it was time to go. No more research, no more packing, no more “getting ready.” No more filming, no more preparation. The time was now.
As the day for my departure arrived, I remembered that I had decided to let the cameras follow me to Barranquilla as a way to hopefully change people’s perception of international dating. You are never going change everybody’s perception, really, but I knew if I could get open-minded people to see things in a different way, then that would be success for me.
I was excited about going to Colombia. I had been there before and knew Colombia was beautiful and the Colombian’s are happy friendly people so no matter what, I would have a nice vacation.
So, I left Houston for my big adventure in Barranquilla, not hoping for anything too much.
Just trying to stay realistic and have a good time and let things play out naturally with no pressure to find Ms. Right.
Конец