Module 9 Introduction Note
In English potpourri is spelt without a hyphen.
Pot-pourri is a French word. Te original meaning of the word is a stew made of different kinds of meat, but nowadays potpourri means a mixture of dried petals and spices which is used to perfume a room. People also use the word to indicate a mixture or variety of different articles, food products, etc. Tis module is a potpourri of different texts and activities.
Perceptions
Members of the public write letters to the editors of newspapers or magazines for a variety of reasons, perhaps the most common one being to express an opinion about a particular issue or incident which impacts on their lives. Writers oſten make use of an anecdote (a short entertaining story about a real incident or person) to illustrate their viewpoint. Our perception is the way we interpret and understand what is going on around us. A manager may have the perception that one of his sales reps is making very good sales but when he sees the half-yearly sales figures, he realises that this is not the case.
Vocabulary
kindergarten – it means ‘children’s garden’; a preschool educational institution for children sombre – dull; dark; serious; sad
A mother tells the story about her son’s kindergarten years. Her little boy regularly brought home paintings in sombre colours: grey butterflies, brown clouds, olive-green people and black flowers. She worried about whether he was trying to communicate some sub-conscious unhappiness, and considered consulting a child psychologist. One day, when he brought home another dark artwork, she asked him, ‘Do you think some yellow or red might look nice in this picture?’ ‘Oh yes’, he replied brightly, ‘but I always play outside for so long that when I come in to paint, all those colours are already taken.’ Te moral of the story is simple: Don’t jump to conclusions about people’s motives. Ask them first.
ACTIVITY 1
Comprehension Zandisile’s act of kindness may seem small and insignificant in the greater scheme of things, but to Joel Pollak it was important. Read his letter to a newspaper below and answer the questions that follow.
How Zandisile made my day
As an American studying in Cape Town, I have often been warned about crime here – perhaps for good reason. But few people, local and foreign, ever take the time to comment on the extraordinary generosity and selflessness that is displayed every day by ordinary South Africans. To illustrate this point, I would like to relate a small feel-good anecdote to your readers. Friday started badly for me. First, I had an argument on the telephone with my parents in Chicago. Next, my car started giving trouble.
I took it to a garage and hopped on a minibus taxi, and was
so preoccupied with everything that had happened so far that when I got out of the taxi in town, I left my backpack behind. Te police tried to help me recover the bag, but I couldn’t
remember any details about the taxi or its driver, and there was not much they could do. I accepted the fact that I would never see my bag or my belongings again. Later that day, however,
I received a call that my bag had been found. Zandisile Kwababa, a young man from
Old Crossroads, had noticed a black bag in a rubbish bin. Eventually he phoned Vicky Ntozini, who runs a bed and breakfast in Khayelitsha and who had given me her business card. She had my phone number and was able to put me in touch with Zandisile. We were very happy and relieved to speak to each other. He said to me, ‘I thought to myself: this man is another human being who may be in trouble, and I must help him.’ Many thanks, Zandisile: you have exemplified the upright humanity of ordinary South Africans that is so often taken for granted. Crime may be a problem in Cape Town, but ubuntu
is still alive and well. (308 words) By Joel Pollak (Adapted from Cape Argus)
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