Alabama Church Adventure Part IV and Etcetera

Let's see, what have we been up to lately?

Well, there was that time when I was the primary counsellor and I kicked arse and the kids noticed. To clarify, I didn't actually kick anything, but I did keep the group well ahead of schedule.

In all honesty what I'm able to do with the group really counts for very little. If they want to "act the fool" as they say round here, then they are going to do everything in their power to do so. I just happened to get lucky and have them on a good day. I don't care, we got to bed at 7 pm. And yes, that is a reward.

I can't remember if I've already blogged that... and I don't want to check. But anywho.

So on Friday I had to find a cheque cashing place to cash my pay cheque because I haven't been able to open a bank account yet and Walmart doesn't cash hand written cheques. After trying a few places to no avail we were finally directed to a place conveniently designed for immigrants like myself. Here's how the conversation went (approximately). Try to see if you can pinpoint the moment when I started wigging out.

Me - "Hi, I'd like to cash this cheque."
Guy behind counter - "Sure, do you have any ID?"
Me - "Yup."
Guy - "Nova Scotia, wo, why the heck did you move here?"
Me - "For the job."
Guy - something about Alabama being the last place anyone would want to go
Guy - "So, do you have a boyfriend?" (if you guessed right now, you're about right)
Me in my head - "say yes, say yes, say yes, say yes"
Me out loud - "No."
Guy - "Well why not?"
Me - "I just moved here..."
Guy - "So, what would you say if I asked you out to dinner?"
Me in my head - "Holy crap. Where on earth am I???"
Me out loud - "Ummm, errrr, uhhh, no? I work a lot"
Guy - "Oh..."

Yes, this is a true story. No, that has never happened to me before. The most unfortunate part was that this happened at the beginning of my business transaction so the rest of the exchange was shrouded in an impenetrable cloud of awkwardness.

And as I'm walking to the car I realize that I just handed the guy a piece of paper with most of my vital information on it. Fortunately I don't know my own phone number yet, or else he probably would have tried to call...

This situation was so sketchy on so many levels. The business was located beside an adult video store, for one. The carpet smelled of urine and heaven knows what else and the guy was wearing a shirt akin to that of the comic book store owner on the Simpsons. That and any time someone asks you out on the other side of a plexiglass bullet proof window I'd be wary.

So, church this morning.

I went with a couple of co-workers to a place called Hope Community Church. There were three white people in the service. Me and my two co-workers.

Despite the obvious differences I didn't feel all that out of place. Of the three or four churches I've been to, I'd be most likely to return to that one. It just seemed more honest and less showy. The preacher was still a screacher, but he had more interesting things to say. Bascially the whole thing felt like the closing scene of "The Preacher's Wife". It was very energetic, very loud, and pretty fun.

I noted that the male to female ration was about 1 guy for every ten women, and there were far fewer SUV's in the parking lot.

I still need to find something else though... between the church with the full orchestra, the church with the crazy preacher and healings, the church with the rock star attitude, and the church with a groove I could never emulate, I'm kind of at a loss. Who knows where I'll end up next week!

It's been a slice, but I gotta get some laundry done. This is my last week of training. After this I have to at least fake that I know what I'm doing.

Wish me luck!