Tours

[Pete E]

Has anybody met their novia or wife at a tour party?My take is not only do you spend $1000 or so but you are likely to meet less serious girls.

Pete

[TexasRob]

... in response to Tours, posted by Pete E on May 15, 2002

It is interesting that several of the girls I met in Colombia will join an agency but would not consider attending the big TLC tour.  To these girls that seems to carry a bad reputation.  They also warned me to not get mixed up with any of the girls at the tour.

[denvermike]

... in response to Tours, posted by Pete E on May 15, 2002

Hi,

Over two years ago I took a tour to Panama with TLC. There were only about 18 guys as I recall.  Most of the guys struck out completely meeting noboby of real interest.  The TLC parties seem too big to me and the gringo to latina ratio was so high that many of the girls got discouraged and left early. But I had a great time.

Some of the guys came all that way and were too timid to even talk to the ladies.  Some stood there along the wall expecting the girls to come to them. One thing that is hard is that when there is a table full of girls, it can be a little intimidating to pick one out and try to chat her up while all the others look on. I made a buddy or two and our appoach was simple, together we would go to a table together and just introduce ourselves (safety in numbers). I think we talked to nearly every table on both nights.

One of the guys hooked up with a really pretty girl from David, Panama. It looked they were serious right away or least she was.  They made plans to go meet her parents and the like. He was recently divorced and he was there only to play around. He wasn't really serious.

Most of the guys were very serious. I think it is a matter of luck to meet someone at a party since there are so many to meet and so little time. The pool party was a complete dud, but one of my friends showed up, so I had a good time.

I met four ladies (one of them was a real knockout), three of which I still receive email from on a regular basis.  We are mostly just friends now, but there is one who is still quite serious, as I get these X-rated emails about once a week from her.  She is a really nice women but she has two kids, and I am not interested in that situation

If you speak reasonable Spanish, and you are out going.  you can probably do OK on a tour.  In my opinion, tours are too pricey so I never did another one.

[Patrick]

... in response to Tours, posted by Pete E on May 15, 2002

There was a guy I knew years ago who was searching at the same time I was who married a girl he met at a TLC tour party (about a week after meeting her).

I lost touch with him, but his buddy kept in contact and told me that he ended up divorced about a year later.  It was another 40-something guy who married a girl in her early 20s.  Mix cultural differences, communication problems due to language difficulties, throw in a 20 year age gap, and marry a stranger and I would expect the chances of success are less than they could be for someone who uses a little more thought in the process.

If you go on a tour, use it simply to meet women and DO NOT go with the intent of finding a wife.  Develop whatever relationship(s) you start there for some time and go back for more visits.  Learn Spanish, study the culture, get to know the woman really well and stick with smaller age gaps and I suspect your chances of a successful marriage would be much better than the guy who knows no Spanish who travels to Latin America and marries someone 20 years younger than him one week after meeting her.

Of course, I have no doubt there are couples out there who married under the worst case scenario who live happily ever after, but you're probably better off relying a little less on luck and a little more on preparation and realistic expectations.

[Cali vet]

... in response to Tours, posted by Pete E on May 15, 2002

I went to a TLC tour in B/quilla about two years ago and my impression after getting to know people there was that many of the the girls were regulars who come for every tour. It's a night out for them, it's fun to meet gringos, most in jackets and ties and there's a free buffet. And now they're giving away two tv's as door prizes. There are certainly incidences of gringos popping the question the second night (TLC advises against asking a girl to marry you at the first social) and Gary Bala is often hovering nearby hoping to hustle his 'For a thousand dollars I'll supply the papers that you that you can get for free' service. However I've never heard of any successfull relationships resulting from one of those tours. I suppose if you are a very rich guy who doesn't mind dropping $1000 for two parties+airfare+hotel (the final pool party won't count unless you already have a prime cadidata), it could be entertaining. Oops did you touch a nerve?

[Keith Smith]

... in response to Tours, posted by Pete E on May 15, 2002

Pete, I've been on three singles tours: San Pedro Sula, Honduras (Nov. '96), Barranquilla, Colombia (Feb. '99), and Guadalajara, Mexico (Aug. '99). I know a couple of guys who've had success on the Honduras tour. It's very likely that I will go on another group tour (TLC to Cali). Why? personally, I want to have a greater exposure to the ladies. I'm not knocking the agencies, but I really haven't found what I'm looking for in a woman (yet). However, I've made very good friends. But I have to admit that there are "players" in these agencies, too. Later.