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

  • Jog and blog

    The only way to hold a job and still jog and blog is to sacrifice your sleep. You will always find time for things you hold near and dear e.g. texting to ones you care about, reading about Oakland shooting etc…. ROW rest of world could wait. There is only 24 hours in a day.…

  • Memory of a flood

    I jumped on the divan and sat in the middle of it, as far away from the rising water as possible. For a  3 year-old, the sight of water everywhere must be frightening. Water like what was brought in yesterday by the storm. Saigon was hit direct. Trees toppled and treasure lost. The French architect planned…

  • Mua Saigon (rain on tin roof)

    Out of hundreds, emerged one. Winner of the throne. Winner of brand simple. Vua Hung Vuong, Vietnam‘s first King. His campaign? Neither communication skill, nor combating skill. But culinary skill. Simple dishes yet full of meaning: square bean cake representing the Earth, round one the Moon. Harmony without and symmetry within. Bingo! The throne is yours.…

  • Past lives

    Alpha-Omega or reincarnation? Steve Jobs didn’t believe all those talents would disappear in a flash. Many here in Asia believe the same. Hypnotism brings back deep-seated memories in the brain, recalling multiple past lives . Duyen No. L’amour and Debt. No coincidence. Just virtuous or vicious cycle. Spin it baby. Make your choices. Think you are in control?…

  • Residue and residual

    The former is negative and the later positive. My landlord commemorates (gio) her husband seventh death anniversary. Seven years of living alone, of magical thinking, to paraphrase Joan Didion’s title. People who died leave behind a trail of tears. Regret, unfinished business, unrealized dream. If only I had taken up guitar lessons. If only I had said…

  • Top line

    Creme de la creme. And so it goes. Self-actualization (Maslow) meets Application layer (OSI). Voila! Ipod, Iphone, Ipad and Itv. The “I” in the Iproducts. No other word connects more than (I, I, I, I, I). Genius marketing. Stay hungry, stay curious. Marketers are trend spotters. But they need to understand the human animal: survival instincts and herd…

  • Mojo memory

    Like muscle memory, our mojo could come back if we know how to flex it. Self-reinvention. Press reset. Peak again. Brace for it. Noose’s head. Winning. It’s hard work and threatening to ride the wave once again. Many would rather take the path of least resistance. Play it safe. But the world is crying out for…

  • Saigon Jazz

    It reminded me of the scene from Woodstock: long-hair kids, guitar, tatoo and scooters. All converged in an alley. Parking was a problem. I asked neighbors to pitch in: it’s a wake for a musician friend who had recently passed away. His students came from My Tho, those with eye-sights and those without. They jammed, they…

  • Then came the rain

    It rained on the book fair here in Saigon. Word and water don’t mix. But I must admit seeing young readers eager to browse anything and everything, even kissing the note books we handed out, warms my heart. I can relate to why the Happiness Index listed top countries such as Costa Rica and Vietnam. Money might…

  • Illusions

    Sinatra was famous for his signature song: My Way. We carry the illusion of control, of doing it our way. Is it really so? Do have a choice about our appearance? Our height, our hair? Personalities and purse strings. If only could we nailed down the bad guy, then things would be OK. Will it? People who have…