Today was a bit rough because the rose-colored glasses have started to come off. On our way to a figure drawing class for which I'm the model, we encountered numerous students hiding in the stairwell. As soon as they saw where we were headed, some of them grabbed our belongings and pretended to be helping us and the rest used us as shields. The reason, was that there was a teacher on the prowl with a broom handle, and they were using us to keep from being beaten.
During class, we were giving the students time to look at each other's work when the door burst open. Two teachers and a police officer entered and said they needed to see all of the boys in a line-up. Apparently there had been a robbery and an informant was there to make identifications. Fortunately none of the boys in our class were singled out.
Lastly, today was extremely windy, cold and rainy and yet there was a girl in that drawing class wearing only a short-sleeved dress. When I asked about it, her friend told me that she doesn't own a winter coat or sweater. Many of us came to Port Elizabeth with clothing to donate and we tracked down a sweatshirt and gave it to her. Her smile was huge but there are many more kids who I didn't encounter today but who are also without coats or warm clothes. It's really difficult, wanting to give up all of my belongings, but knowing that that won't even make a dent towards improving their situations.
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