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

  • Tang, Sanka and Google instant

    Originally posted on Thang Nguyen 555: Tang was well-known way back then, as the drink of choice for astronauts. Sanka had been in every motel room, before the green de-caffeine (equivalent of conditioner that is coupled with shampoo) bags came to existence. And now Google Instant, promised to be faster and more magical. Can’t data…

  • the infrastructure bills that come due

    Originally posted on Thang Nguyen 555: Infrastructure improvement could cost billions. Kids need to drive someday. And as Mr Buffet wisely put his investment dollars into railways since containers need to be offloaded to the Wal-Mart near you. Those who travel recently can recall “boarding by zone”, “e-ticketing”, etc.. All sorts of gimmicks , except for…

  • Eroded confidence

    Originally posted on Thang Nguyen 555: Huffington is coming out with a book titled “Third World America”. As she makes the case for America’s shrinking middle-class, I can’t help notice a striking contrast with Vietnam (Third World which wants to become America), whose nascent credit (system) and (middle) class are almost non-existent. Yet it made…

  • Love on aisle 13

    Originally posted on Thang Nguyen 555: Inside Wal-Mart, you can find towels, pillows and assorted bath items neatly displayed, aisle by aisle. Almost all the essential and desirable are available in store and online, but you can not find love on aisle 13. You wish. http://www.publicradio.org/columns/marketplace/business-news-briefs/2010/09/money_cant_buy_me_love_but_it.html Love and happiness are quite alluding. The more one…

  • This gotta to stop!

    Originally posted on Thang Nguyen 555: Yesterday, I saw Monique Truong on the Poets-and-Writers cover. The author of “the Book of Salt” was launching another title : “Bitter in the mouth”. Meanwhile, I still am awaiting the shipment of “East eats West” by Andrew Lam. What’s going on here? A Renaissance in publishing by Vietnamese-American…

  • daring swim

    Originally posted on Thang Nguyen 555: I was privy to not once or twice, but thrice, work  in non-profit capacity with displaced Vietnamese. My first time was at IndiantownGap, Pennsylvania as a Child Welfare interpreter. Later, in Hong Kong as a relief worker. And latest was in 1983, in the Philippines, where Cambodian and Vietnamese…

  • Coke, enduring and endearing

    Originally posted on Thang Nguyen 555: The verdict is in. Marketing folks all know by now that top of the list reigns COKE. My first wage (selling Vietnamese worthless currency in Subic Bay on my way to the US a few days after the war had ended) was spent on Coke, from a vending machine.…

  • From BRIC to VIC

    Originally posted on Thang Nguyen 555: http://www.ukti.gov.uk/de_de/uktihome/pressRelease/117708.html?null Among the top findings from an UK investment survey (Economist Survey Unit – above), Vietnam, India and China (VIC) are the top three to watch. Other findings by HSBC came up with CIVETs (remember BRIC?): Columbia, Indonesia, Vietnam, Egypt, Turkey and S Africa as stable political markets (as…

  • Twitter speech

    Originally posted on Thang Nguyen 555: Before there was “elevator speech” . Now Twitter speech (or CV) offers a quick summation of one’s career mission. Best and worst of  wise cracks and fortune-cookie wisdom. Modern-day equivalent of digital tombstones. Tombstones leave behind relationship-defining legacies  i.e. mother, teacher, sister etc… In The Last Lecture, the author…

  • Risks and Rewards

    As the saying goes, you’ve got to enter the lion’s den to get the lion. No pain no gain. Taking risks is not something for everyone. After all, we have all the safety measures built-in to our system: from seat-belts to “frisk-machines”. Yet, in business as in life, risk is part of life, just like…