Thang Nguyen 555

Cultures on Collision Course

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With some short-term relief work in Asia/Africa and long stint in Telecom, Thang also earned a B.A. at Pennsylvania State University. M.A. in Communication at Wheaton Graduate School, M.A. in Cross-Cultural Communication at Gordon-Conwell Seminary, Boston. In addition, he earned a CELTA – classes taken in Hanoi for cultural re-immersion.

Author: Thang Nguyen 555

  • Rain and rhythm

    Chewing gum jingle, and it seems to work:  “looking for a brand new start”. Each day, we woke up to a start. Just like that first day out of our mother’s womb. Not knowing what to expect. Not knowing who to trust. Not knowing the future. Will it rain today? Or same ole sticky heat? Rain and tears…

  • Parting

    Chicago‘s If you Leave Me Now is easy to listen to,but  hard to sing. “You take away a part of me”. Changes are necessary. Progress and modernity. More convenience, more amenities. Full service. One-stop shop. Once we have upgraded to some fancy levels, our memory muscles kick in full gear. Gotta get back on top.…

  • Son Tinh Thuy Tinh

    According to Vietnamese legend, the Mountain God showed up early to ask for the Princess’ hand.  The Sea God was half a step late.  Hence, anger turned tsunami, Katrina, Fukushima etc…. Vietnam Central region always stands in the way of major storms. To endure and overcome natural disasters, people fabricated tales to assuage their own pain. Kids,…

  • Little space lots of room

    Saigon wasn’t built or planned for 10 million (back in the 50’s, its population was 1 million). And certainly not when scooters are on fire as happened lately. Raging hot. World in flame. Flashback of Monk Thich Quang Duc protesting dictatorship (Tunesian’s style). I fight for my jogging lane, negotiating between the sidewalk and the drainage. It’s a…

  • Saigon Central (Ga Saigon)

    The track is still there. So is the prominent display of coal locomotive. Hard to get there though, tuck in the back of winding District 3 streets. I checked out the logistic and lay-out: upstairs for ticketing, and downstairs with hamburger stores. My sister loves to take train to Hanoi. She grew up reading the Hunchback of…

  • Empty space

    Void. Vacuum. Unfilled and unoccupied space. Plenty of them, within and without. So we fear its vastness. We try to fill it up with stuff. In the process, making ourselves mini-gods. Co-creators of space-filling. Bed, bath and beyond. Then give them away to Goodwill to make room for more empty space. Everyone got problems with fitting…

  • The 11th law

    Forbes ran a piece on the 10 laws for our century i.e. Metcalfe, Moore etc… Encompassed above should be the Golden Rule, the 11th law. Committed to communicate and collaborate. Contribution. Do unto others. Racing to the top, but also helping others to get there. I experimented with the Asian model of running a sales…

  • Decoding the thing called Love

    Knock three times on the ceiling if you want me, twice on the pipe if the answer is No. We communicate, therefore we are. Language of the heart. The vibe. Hearts in sync. Le vent la mer le soleil et la pluie. Heaven and Earth aligned. Yin and Yan. Mothers Day and Fathers Day. Be brave.…

  • Take it up one notch

    I am all for PE (Physical Education). This trend has picked up in Vietnam; all the powers to young people. Gold gym, Cali gym, NVK gym, Nhat Dang Nhi Da etc…. Let’s go. One and two. Lift those arms, kick those legs. Be healthy and be green. (I have blogged too much about death and caskets, since I live…

  • Deadly respectful!

    On the way to the gym, I saw a casket being carried out of an alley (with funeral band playing “Soi Da cung can co nhau” – pebble and stone still need each other). Then to my amazement, the pall-bearers swung the casket around 180 degrees, dipped it three times without spilling the whiskey glasses on top then, another…