Welcome to the Texas Lounge

I am now spending my first night in the Northern Cape province where, come the end of training, I will be spending the next two years of my life. I am currently in the small town of Warrenton, which with its adjacent township of Ikhutseng, has a population of around 25,000. For those unfamiliar with the term, a township is a collection of humble houses and shacks that lies on the outskirts of a town and is usually comprised almost exclusively of blacks.

Prior to arriving at Warrenton, the other Northern Cape trainees and I, had attended an education workshop, where we (gasp!) got to stay in a hotel. Believe me when I say that that first hot shower seemed like something sent from the Almighty himself. I suppose weeks of bucket bathing will do that to you.
After finishing the workshop, I traveled by car with the two principals I will be working with the short distance to Warrenton and Ikhutseng. Upon the way I was struck by just how much the area reminded me of Texas. Large swathes of land were covered with brush and sand like a scene one might encounter on a drive to El Paso. These shades of brown would then be interrupted by explosions of green which were irrigated fields belonging to local farms. Continuing in the Texas vein, sure enough, one of the agricultural endeavors was none other than a pecan farm. Needless to say, I was already beginning to feel at home.

We entered Warrenton and turned down the street leading to the house where I will be spending the next several days with a host family. Wouldn’t you know it, but almost right across the street from the host family’s house the huge words of “Texas Lounge” jumped out. And no, the town had not simply painted this as a way of designating the area of town where I would be staying. There is actually what seems to be a bar right across the street from me named after the Lone Star State. The sign is accompanied by a mural of a man wearing a sombrero sitting amongst cactuses in the desert under a blazing sun. Not the usual stereotype of Texas, but then again we were once a part of Mexico, so not entirely inaccurate.

Once dropping off my bags, my principals took me to the township to show me the schools where I will be working. The area is definitely a humbler existence with more latrines than flush toilets and square footage much reduced from the houses in Warrenton. That being said, the roads were still relatively good and even more importantly, the people I got to speak to were incredibly nice and welcoming. If I end up living there, something tells me that I will be the first white resident of Ikhutseng, which I think is a very cool thought.

This whole experience was capped off by me being transported to the local soccer stadium, where the local school teams of 13 year olds were competing. Naturally, I was asked to serve as referee for the last two games of the day, a responsibility I eagerly accepted. At halftime, I also managed to display some of my juggling ability and skills with the game ball. So, at the very least, word is now being passed around Warrenton/Ikhutseng that there is some tall white guy in town who hangs out with blacks and can do some pretty sweet tricks with a ball (not to mention superb refereeing skills).

Well, I, as always am exhausted and need to get a good night’s rest for tomorrow’s activities. I’ll be observing in the schools where I will be teaching as well as being introduced to various important members of the community. Best that I bring my A-game. So that’s the way the world was Wednesday, August 24, 2011.