Today was a pretty low key filming day. A quick breakfast and then the camera crew arrived. They wanted to film empty beer bottles outside of our tent as if we partied all night. This was anything but true and hopefully it doesn’t make the final cut of the show as it paints us in a less than appealing and unfair light, but it’s entertainment TV so we’ll have to see the route the choose to go.
During my interviews, Astrid (one of the directors/interviewers) kept trying to coax or lead me but I wouldn’t give in. (Chain vs vagina in Norwegian, etc.) In a most memorable attempt at a soundbite she asked if the show in our car “came from Norwegian men’s dicks?” “God no! Absolutely not! It was too hot to put snow on the outside of the car, it would melt so we had to put it on the inside of the car!”
After lunch I played catch with Lauren and was later joined by Erik, Derrick, and Martine. I’ve played catch in a lot of cool places, but this takes the cake. It was awesome teaching Martine how to pitch. We got some great photos, one of which I’ll turn into a baseball card for her when I get home.
I took the later of the two busses back to the hotel so I could spend as much time on the coast as possible. After cleaning up, as an entire group we headed to downtown Stavanger for dinner. Part of what’s so cool about this show, is how well we’re treated off camera. The producers have no incentive to take us out to so many nice meals. This was a nothing day, we were all at the hotel, they could have easily given us hotel sandwiches for dinner and we’d be fine. Instead we’re downtown at a Michelin 1-Star restaurant. (I regret not writing the name down but there’s a chance it was Tango Bar & Kjøkken.) (It was all too perfect that Taylor Swift’s All You Had to do Was Stay was playing somewhere in the background as we walked in to the restaurant as she’s the reason I get to stay in Norway.)
When we got back to the hotel we met with Heidi and heard all about her amazing day at her old family home. The red team was then given 90 minutes to study for tomorrow’s “final exam” that will result in one of them going home.
Before bed we gathered around Brita’s computer and watched each of our respective audition videos. It was super cool seeing us in our own element and at our own homes.
Losing someone tomorrow will inevitably be difficult on the group, we’ll have to see how it goes.
Lars Phillips 