Marc Nelson: Life on the fast lane

Marc Nelson may not have a single drop of Filipino blood (he’s Chinese-Burmese). But he acts like he first saw the light of day in the Philippines.

“This is my home,” he flashes that smile that has sent many a girl’s hearts a-flutter. And he’s not just doing the country some lip service. Marc says he wants to put up a beach house in San Vicente, Palawan near where a new international airport will someday stand.

“Palawan is different from Boracay,” the water lover says. “I want to promote this and other places in the Philippines to make it the tourist destination of Asia. This way, more people will marvel at what I see around in the Philippines.”

Unlike other foreigners who see only corruption and kidnapping staring at them in the face, Marc speaks highly of Filipinos. They’re one of the most underrated, misunderstood people hereabouts, he observes. For one, they speak good English. That’s why Marc is confident his mission of promoting the Philippines overseas will succeed.

The tourist spots are not his only reasons of staying put in his adopted country. Since he came back from a pleasure trip to Zambia recently, Marc has been racing around the clock to keep up with his hectic schedule.

“I had no spiels to think of in Zambia. Boy, did I have a great time running with a pride of lions! We stayed in a well-appointed tent that was in the middle of nowhere. Facilities were great. Zambia is indeed a safari destination,” Marc gushes.

Now that he’s back, refreshed and recharged, Marc’s life is again like The Amazing Race Asia minus the competition part.

He hosts Q-11’s reality show The Debutante (Mondays, 7:15 p.m.), Sports Unlimited, and soon, two more shows — one for men, and another reality show.

The Debutante stands out in Marc’s book because he doesn’t deal with sports and fitness this time. Instead, Marc faces a bevy of talented, smart young ladies eyeing the grand prize of P150,000 worth of jewelry, a trip to Boracay, a Q-11 hosting stint, a personality development workshop and a full-length feature in a magazine.

“I’m in unfamiliar territory,” Marc admits. “Like the girls, I’m finding my niche here. That’s why I’m waiting for public reaction to the show.”

Here, Marc gets a different kind of kick, not from hurdling a physically taxing challenge, from seeing the girls bloom right before his very eyes.

“I’ve seen them gain confidence as the show goes on,” explains Marc. And the 10 remaining ladies who made it to the finals are indeed pictures of poise and confidence.

Whether they’re selling charcoal, waiting for their turn at the common bathroom, trying water sports for the first time, etc., the girls agree on one thing: they’ve grown by leaps and bounds. They’ve learned to adapt to different environments and get along with each other. And they’ve become stronger because of these.

And although he can very well be their Kuya, Marc admits he’s learning a lot from the girls. He’s learning from their camaraderie, resourcefulness and enormous patience.

“Marc is very helpful to us,” they chorus during the show’s Talent Night (to be aired July 7). The chemistry between Marc and the finalists — ages ranging from 15 to 21 — is palpable.

The audience will feel it some more, as the search for the next “It” girl goes on in the show.

Meantime, Marc is not resting on his laurels. He knows he still has to brush up on his Tagalog, and speak like the natives do: sans the accent.

But knowing Marc, he will give this big challenge in his life the same effort he showed on The Amazing Race Asia. He will give it his best shot.