Since it only costs $30, today I decided I will soon make an appearance at Crocodile's Cove. This is a place downtown Darwin that is host to 200 crocodiles. The main attraction (and the reason I will be going), though, is not just the overall number of crocs, but the cage/tank for only the brave people. There is a tank in the water with the crocodiles for people to swim in while the crocs swim just along side you. There can be one or two people in the tank at a time. Thinking logically, I've decided two is my magic number. I plan on swaying big ole Jermaine to voyage into the tank with me. I figure if some freak accident happens and the crocodile is in a position to scrap with me, I will be better off wrestling it with the long, 6'8 dude on my side than by my lonesome. If he wimps out and his size proves useless, I guess I'll be going solo. I say all this now assuming I will be as brave when the time comes as I am now thinking about it from a distance. But I will go there. And I will hop in that tank. Mark my words. I think I'll get someone to take a picture or two for me so I can post it on here later.
I see it like this: the season starts in August, so now is my time to explore and throw myself into the middle of new adventures. So "Crocodile Cove" is up next on the list of things to explore. Another thing I explored today was the church down the street from me. I attended a small Salvation Army church. This was no ordinary church. It was a Swahili church, ran by both Australians and Africans. Half the people were from Australia, and half from Africa. The impression I got from speaking to the friendly people there was that I was the only American. The people seemed unusually genuine, and it was refreshing. They all greeted me and spoke to me not just because I was an American, but because I was a new face. That's how small the church is. The service was spoken and completed in two languages -- English (with an accent) and Swahili. Various pieces of the African culture shined during the service, from kids dancing to the playing of their drums and maracas, to the prayers in Swahili. I have decided to stick with this church, mostly because it makes me uncomfortable. I am not used to such a service. I could easily go to any of the other three churches down the road and test them out to see if they are perhaps more "Americanized." However, after thinking about it, I believe God brought me to America to expand my horizons and get me to slip out of my comfortable shell I like to occasionally coast in. So I am delving not only into Australian culture, but African culture as well. I hope to learn and grow from the experience, as well as meet new friends from foreign lands. One nice lady eventually got to asking me if I could tutor her son in English one day a week for some extra cash outside of basketball, which I will certainly take her up on. Another elderly woman asked for my autograph just because I play basketball. The people were very nice, and so was the message. The sermon of the spokesperson was something I personally needed to here as well. And it stuck. So all in all, it was a very unusual yet successful first day of church in Australia. I even got to join an organization out here that helps fight human trafficking, which is an issue I have been passionately researching while in school for the past four months or so before I graduated. So my first Sunday in Australia has offered what seems to be some promising things ahead. This day has only raised the bar for what is to come a week from now.
Since it only costs $30, today I decided I will soon make an appearance at Crocodile's Cove. This is a place downtown Darwin that is host to 200 crocodiles. The main attraction (and the reason I will be going), though, is not just the overall number of crocs, but the cage/tank for only the brave people. There is a tank in the water with the crocodiles for people to swim in while the crocs swim just along side you. There can be one or two people in the tank at a time. Thinking logically, I've decided two is my magic number. I plan on swaying big ole Jermaine to voyage into the tank with me. I figure if some freak accident happens and the crocodile is in a position to scrap with me, I will be better off wrestling it with the long, 6'8 dude on my side than by my lonesome. If he wimps out and his size proves useless, I guess I'll be going solo. I say all this now assuming I will be as brave when the time comes as I am now thinking about it from a distance. But I will go there. And I will hop in that tank. Mark my words. I think I'll get someone to take a picture or two for me so I can post it on here later.
I see it like this: the season starts in August, so now is my time to explore and throw myself into the middle of new adventures. So "Crocodile Cove" is up next on the list of things to explore. Another thing I explored today was the church down the street from me. I attended a small Salvation Army church. This was no ordinary church. It was a Swahili church, ran by both Australians and Africans. Half the people were from Australia, and half from Africa. The impression I got from speaking to the friendly people there was that I was the only American. The people seemed unusually genuine, and it was refreshing. They all greeted me and spoke to me not just because I was an American, but because I was a new face. That's how small the church is. The service was spoken and completed in two languages -- English (with an accent) and Swahili. Various pieces of the African culture shined during the service, from kids dancing to the playing of their drums and maracas, to the prayers in Swahili. I have decided to stick with this church, mostly because it makes me uncomfortable. I am not used to such a service. I could easily go to any of the other three churches down the road and test them out to see if they are perhaps more "Americanized." However, after thinking about it, I believe God brought me to America to expand my horizons and get me to slip out of my comfortable shell I like to occasionally coast in. So I am delving not only into Australian culture, but African culture as well. I hope to learn and grow from the experience, as well as meet new friends from foreign lands. One nice lady eventually got to asking me if I could tutor her son in English one day a week for some extra cash outside of basketball, which I will certainly take her up on. Another elderly woman asked for my autograph just because I play basketball. The people were very nice, and so was the message. The sermon of the spokesperson was something I personally needed to here as well. And it stuck. So all in all, it was a very unusual yet successful first day of church in Australia. I even got to join an organization out here that helps fight human trafficking, which is an issue I have been passionately researching while in school for the past four months or so before I graduated. So my first Sunday in Australia has offered what seems to be some promising things ahead. This day has only raised the bar for what is to come a week from now. 
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