The Diary of Anne Frank was discovered after her death. It was a diary kept while she and her family were in secret hiding.

The Diary of Anne Ku is a live cyberspace diary - containing the first thoughts and feelings of the moment (without further editing or enhancement) jotted down by Anne Ku as and when she feels like it. 1st May 2000 is the first entry.

The Diary of Anne Ku

ON WEATHER

3 May 2000

It feels the coldest when you expect it to be warm. Tonight as my colleague and I left the friendly Korean restaurant after a fine evening of sumptuous bulgolgi, kimchi, and sake, we winced at how cold it was. Indeed, for early May, we expect that we should be wearing spring dresses rather than jackets and trousers.

When I returned from Africa last month, it was colder than the month before. I expected spring to progress a bit further after three weeks in the tropical heat.

In England, you quickly learn to talk about the weather. If you want to know what the weather is like, just wait five minutes and it will change. A typical weather forecast goes like this:
"It will be unsettled. Cold. Wet. Grey. Windy. A bit of rain. Chance of thunder. Some sunshine."

I had delayed my return from Houston - so that it would safely be summer by the time I arrived at Gatwick - end of June. Yet, the airport porter did not match my eagerness. He echoed the typical weather report:
"The weather outside is not so good, I'm afraid. It's cold. Wet. Grey. Windy. Rainy."

In Singapore, I lost track of time. I forgot which season it was. I had to look at the calendar to see which month it was. Everyday, the weather report repeated itself like a broken record:
"It will be sunny, hot, and humid today."

In fact, during the "rainy" season - if there ever was one - here is the general rule:
"If it rains, it pours. If it rains in the morning, it won't rain in the afternoon. If it doesn't rain in the morning, it will rain in the afternoon." How predictable!

Arguably the best way to tell if you have lived in England for a long time is how long you are able to talk about the weather.

Every hour I tune into the radio station - just to hear the weather report. I conducted research into weather, even wrote an internet article about all the wonderful free web sites dedicated to the subject. In time, I learned to justify why such uncertain weather conditions were good for me. It inspires me to always "go away". Yes, always run to warmer places - for a dose of sunshine. Then I return to dream about that exotic holiday.

Perhaps, learning to talk about the weather is easier than trying to acquire an English accent. Forget about a Welsh or Scottish accent. So far, I only manage to fool my non-English friends not living in Europe. But in this country, they still think I have a trace of "something American."