Encounter Your Destiny: A True International Romance Tour Love Story

By David O'Dell

The Author, David O'Dell shares his true story on how he met his "true love", his wife on an international romance tour.

Imagine traveling to an exotic location, like Barranquilla Colombia, located on the Caribbean coast and joining eleven other guys with the same mindset of sincerely searching for love and a life partner. During your stay you will attend three socials on different days and at these socials you will be surrounded by one hundred different ladies each evening that are gorgeous, intelligent, available, and most importantly they are interested in meeting you! An experience unparalleled!

Before leaving for Colombia, David was content with his life and his routine. By his own admission he is just an average middle-class guy with brown hair, boy-next-door looks and height, who lives in a traditional 3-bedroom, home in the suburbs of Houston, Texas. David didn't "need" a wife. His decision to go on an international romance tour was based on the premise that at the very least, he'd see a beautiful city in a foreign country and have some wonderful travel memories. At most, if fortunate he'd find someone he truly cared for and could continue a relationship after the tour. Little did he know life was about to get very interesting!

In David's case, he can proudly state that from the moment he met his wife, he knew that they had a very special chemistry, un-matched by anything he had experienced in his life. And while David only spoke a small amount of Spanish, and Cristina spoke some English, they found that romance and chemistry are an international language all their own.

Encounter Your Destiny is a wonderful inspiring novel about true love that intertwines the books author, David O'Dell and his whirlwind romance and marriage to Cristina as well as the inner workings of the romance tour he attended. The novel puts you in the footsteps of David as he takes you behind the scenes -- From David's life before going on the romance tour to when David meets his lovely wife Cristina to their wedding, he takes you through the actual international romance tour, from the moment you arrive in Colombia until the day you depart, and the filming of the romance tour by a documentary television series.

Bonus Section: Your Guide to a Successful International Romance Tour; You'll learn how the process works in detail, what to expect and what you should do -- and not do -- when you take one of these remarkable tours. What the tour agency does, what you should expect from a reputable tour agency. You'll learn about the "Socials" -- the key to meeting and discovering how to interact with the ladies. What you can expect and what you can do to ensure a positive experience for yourself. You'll also gain valuable advice on what you should do regarding dating, what to do while you're dating women in another country, and what you need to do once you return home.

• Language: English
• Publisher: eBookIt.com
• Release date: Apr 26, 2016
• ISBN: 9781456609818

Book preview

story.

Preface

I was inspired to write this account of our love story to let others know there are alternative ways to meet sincere ladies. With global communication one does not have to limit themselves to their city or country to find their life partner.

As you all know, it is not easy finding a woman in the United States. I tried the Internet dating sites with no luck because the women were either different from their profile or the lady was nice but there was no chemistry between us.

So I decided to broaden my horizons and started looking for a woman internationally, thinking it would give me a better opportunity to find that elusive chemistry. Plus, I liked the idea of meeting as many ladies as I possibly could.

My hope was to find a woman that I connected with and then continue the relationship after I finished my romance tour vacation. And maybe the relationship would grow into something special and long lasting. The worst case scenario would be that I enjoyed a good vacation, meet and date some beautiful Latin women, learn more about their culture, and have a beautiful personal tour guide as my escort.

Not in my wildest dreams did I expect to meet Cristina and fall so hard for someone so fast. But she is a very special woman and I am so lucky to have found her. Without taking that next step and getting out of my comfort zone I would have never found my true love.

Acknowledgements

I would like to acknowledge and extend my heartfelt gratitude to the following persons who have made this book possible.

To my wife Cristina: for being so patient with my late nights and so supportive of me in writing this book. Cristina is the love of my life and without her there is no story to write.

I also need to give special thanks to Lisa Ling, the host of Our America with Lisa Ling. I could not imagine a better person to report on our story. Lisa is a true professional and genuine woman. I am very lucky to have met and gotten to know such a special lady.

I also need to thank Darcy Dennett, the producer of the show. It was a pleasure to work with someone who is so kind, considerate and so respectful of my space while filming the show. I want to thank the entire production crew who were fantastic. They became family to me.

And then comes Yami, the office manager in Barranquilla, for her and her staff’s excellent service and support. Yami was fantastic on the tour. She gave us personal attention and was vigilant in her efforts to insure our comfort. She was helpful in answering any questions we had. She truly wants men and women to be successful in finding their life partner.

Chapter One

Single Man in Houston, Texas

I didn’t know this would be a love story. After all, I’m no one special. I’m not complex. I’m not Prince Charming. I’m just an average middle-class guy with brown hair, boy-next-door looks and height, who lives in a traditional 3-bedroom, brick, ranch style home in the suburbs of Houston, Texas. I’m just a guy who goes to work, watches the paint dry on the walls, comes home, takes a hot shower, microwaves a TV dinner, watches a little TV, mows the lawn if it needs it, runs the vacuum over the floor because I like to keep things neat, then goes to bed. I get up the next day, put on my shoes and khakis, and do the same things all over again. My shirts vary, my lunches vary, but pretty much, it’s all the same. I don’t have a glamorous job or salary. I work as a project coordinator and designer for a civil engineering company and most of the time, it’s dull and boring. No excitement there. As I said, I’m your average guy who goes to work every day to earn a buck and pay the bills. My life is uneventful in the most (yawn!) ordinary sense.

When a person repeats the same thing over and over again, several things can happen. One, that person becomes stagnated, gets stuck in a rut, and continues to repeat the same thing over and over again. Two, that person turns to food, drugs and/or alcohol to try to numb the pain of boredom; and third, that person does something to change because he/she can no longer stand the monotony of the sameness every day.

I wanted change. I was contented with my life and routine, and I was at peace, but I wasn’t fulfilled. I knew that I wasn’t living my life with purpose or passion. With verve. With excitement. I was just drifting by like so many other poor souls who have accepted that their dull existence is all there is and have agreed with the universe to just get by. And, I admit it. I was lonely. Don’t get me wrong. I didn’t need a woman to complete my life, but I knew it would be nice to have someone to love who loved me in return. It would be a big bonus in my life. After all, watching reruns of Criminal Minds on Friday nights is not exactly my idea of living the good life. But, here’s the quandary. How does a single, 49 year old guy meet a woman to date, let alone love? I had long ago outgrown the bar scene and had no desire to try to find a woman that way. And, friends were no help. They didn’t know any available women to set me up with. What’s a guy to do?

In October, 2009, one sleepy, rainy Saturday afternoon, after watching Cary Grant and Katherine Hepburn together in a screwball romantic comedy movie on television, I decided to join the millions of others who had found love online. Sitting on my sofa, I took a sip of my Coke and opened up my laptop and clicked on Match.com. It looked simple enough. To me, online dating was the new 21st century bar scene. I had heard stories of others who met their significant other this way, and I decided to give it a shot. I perused the photos of the thousands of women online who were looking for relationships. It dawned on me how lonely people were. Both men and women. With all the social networking communication tools we have today like iPhones, Facebook, Twitter, iPads, etc., people still have a difficult time meeting one another and connecting.

At least I was doing something. It made me feel hopeful. When I found a lady online that I was interested in, I’d email her and we’d talk on the phone. The next step was meeting them in person for coffee, lunch or dinner. Starbucks was always a good choice because if I didn’t hit it off with her, I could leave after my cup of coffee was empty. Generally, when I met the woman in person, I found her to be much different than the person she projected over the phone. Perhaps it’s because people can create an illusion on the phone, and in person, that illusion is shattered. You’re exposed. All physical and personality imperfections are on display. Most of the women I met were nice, but I wasn’t attracted to any of them. Not one. I like all women and can find beauty in all of them, but the women I met on Match.com simply didn’t interest me. There wasn’t any chemistry between us. And it was discouraging.

Perhaps I was too cautious with the online dating game. I’m not sure. I wasn’t exactly a novice when it came to relationships though. I was married for 19 years and in that marriage, I had a lovely daughter, who is now 21 years old and in college. When my marriage ended, I was devastated. It took me several years to get over it and it took a long time to heal my heart. I was over the relationship logically, but my heart wasn’t over it. The heart and mind battled each other constantly.

Mind: "David, you know she has changed and is not the same person. It’s best for you to be divorced. Life goes on and everything always works out for the best. You need to move on with your life. You deserve someone who will love you with all her heart."

Heart: "But, I loved her and she was my best friend. I loved being married and I loved that my daughter had both of her parents at home. I don’t like to give up on things. And, she was my first love and I miss being married sharing our lives together."

Mind: Shape up, David. Get over it. Time to move on!

I then got married a second time, but it was way too soon after my divorce. I don’t regret that marriage, but honestly, it was terrible. I believe that every experience in life is a valuable experience though – no matter how bad it may seem – and even the bad second marriage was a valuable one. I learned so much about myself and became a stronger, more confident, better person.

My two failed marriages helped me grow up and know myself better. When I went to Match.com to find romance and companionship, I went with the right attitude. I didn’t need anyone out of desperation; I simply wanted to share my life with someone. I believe life is more enjoyable if we can share it with someone. It makes the everyday, mundane things special. Adventurous, even. I was an average guy looking for a little more adventure in my life.

I have always done my best to find adventure wherever I could. I have raced cars in my past and currently, I scuba dive, and travel extensively. I’ve been to Russia and China – both amazing places that opened my world to different cultures and lifestyles. I’m not a sophisticated guy, but I am educated and open to new possibilities everywhere. After all, I do believe that anything is possible and that you never know what’s going to happen around the corner.

Little did I know that life was about to get very interesting….

Chapter Two

Single Man, Interrupted

I came home from work on an April evening in 2010 and took a shower. As usual. Somehow, showering after work made me feel as though I was cleansing the dullness of the day off me and that I could now start afresh in the evening. There was an exciting world on television just waiting for me to plug in.

After the shower, I put on shorts and one of my Houston Texans t-shirts and pattered barefoot into the kitchen to prepare dinner. I looked in my freezer and reviewed the stack of TV dinners. Which one should I have tonight? I thought. Did it really matter? They all tasted pretty good. I chose a Stouffer’s turkey dinner, opened it and placed it in the microwave. After 5 minutes, I took it out and went into the living room. I put my dinner on a TV tray and clicked on the TV to watch ESPN and lose myself in the world sports.

The phone rang midway through the turkey and mashed potatoes. It was Bob, a single friend of mine in his early 50s. We often discussed the problems of finding a desirable woman to date. He said,

"David, I’ve been looking online and exploring dating sites, and I believe I have just the

thing for you and me."

What do you mean? I asked, taking a sip of my ice water to wash down the food.

I know how we can meet beautiful women and maybe even find someone to date.

What are you talking about? I said. I’m already on Match.com.

Yea, I know, but I think this could be perfect for us.

I haven’t had much success on Match.com, I replied. "I’ve met a lot