Typhoon Kompasu Coming for Korea

The video above shows Typhoon Kompasu as it made landfall over Okinawa, Japan, yesterday.

Kompasu is heading for Seoul, but is expected to have lost much of its initial streagth and may only be a level two storm by the time it hits us later today. However, its effects are already felt. Subway Line 1 is down -- the weather is suspected. This means that many students won't be able to get to the morning classes on time.

How will this affect my Poetry Class? If there are fewer students for the class at 10am this morning, some students may assume that the class will not continue in which case they may decide to drop this class and enroll for other classes to fill up their required credits. Is it the weather that will be the deciding factor as to whether I'll teach this class this semester? How poetic!

The Case of the Vanished Basil

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Outside my apartment building I have three small pots and one large pot with basil. This morning when I went to work for our weekly department meeting (at 8:30am!) I inspected my little plants with a sense of pride. I've harvested basil leafs just a couple of days ago and the basil plants had already sprouted new leaves. After the department meeting I returned home for breakfast, but as I passed my plants two of the small plants had vanished. I have my suspicious as to whom might have taken it, but I cannot prove it. It really upsets me that people could just feel it appropriate to take something that clearly belongs to someone else. I know it is just two little basil plants; still, I'm quite fond of my basil plants. I grew them from seeds and struggled to get them to the size they are now where I can harvest from them. Not to mention that it very difficult to get basil in Korea, whether dried or fresh. I'm quite upset, too be honest. If this person had asked me for some, I would have given her/him a plant.

National Book Week

Next week, starting 6 September, is South Africa's first National Book Week.The best way to celebrate it is to help with the promotion of reading amongst our younger generation. There are absolutely excellent children's and youth fiction -- youngster just need to be introduced to the pleasure of reading and I'm confident they'll be hooked.

My own enjoyment of reading comes from my mother who encouraged me to read at a very early age by providing me with all sorts of interesting books. Although I did not regularly read as a child the seed was planted and by the time I reached adolescence I rediscovered reading and have been reading both fiction and non-fiction regularly ever since.

I suggest supporting programs like the Metz & Bob book donation (see the poster) or visit your local library and see how you can support the programs they will be running. If you're a parent or if you have nephews and nieces, why not by them an interesting book to celebrate National Book Week. And while you at it, get yourself a good book and instead of watching TV next week, switch of the noise and settle in rediscover the joys of reading. You could even challenge yourself to read at least one book during National Book Week!