Some of you may know that I was recently on House Hunters International. I know many people have questions about the what’s and how’s of it, so I thought I would address some of them here. There are some things I can’t share per the contract that I signed but I thought it might interest you to learn how I even got there.

Five years ago, I would wake up at 5:30 am, hop on the elliptical machine in the basement, and watch House Hunters International. I loved the show and was always fascinated to see different locations around the world and learn what had brought people to these major life changes. Even if I was jealous and sweaty, I was also entertained.

Soon after I decided to get serious about moving to France, a friend of mine shared a Facebook post looking for Americans moving internationally to share their stories. For some reason I thought it was for a written publication so I shared my dream and explained a little bit about my family. My email was met with another where I was asked to explain further and share some pictures of my family. Again, I did this thinking I might be able to get some publicity for my blog down the road.

It wasn’t until the third or fourth email, that I was told the information was being gathered for House Hunters International. I spoke with a very nice casting agent and we did a couple of interviews over the computer that Matthew joined in on. I learned a bit more about the expectations should we be chosen and also that we would be compensated. Heading into a year of minimal employment, I was definitely interested. We chatted with our kids about their feelings and after some eye rolling, and “oh God” comments, they gave us their blessing to go forward.

After a month or so, we were formally selected to begin the process. I can ‘t say much about filming except that it is much more complicated than it looks. I have way more respect for people who have careers both behind and in front of the camera. The best part of the experience was the crew who took such good care of us. They could tell when we were tired, hungry or just plain “over” it. I guess that’s what spending 10-12 hour days together does. Anyhow, we made some new friends and learned a lot. As for now though, Hollywood is not calling.