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.

Tag: Ho Chi Minh City

  • Saigon rocks!

    The night before New Year’s Eve (year of the Dragon), Saigonese and expats got a choice to watch the rehearsal at formerly known as Independence Palace, or nurse a beer at Acoustic. Years ago, this neighborhood was a hang-out place for privileged kids who attended nearby French lycee. Today, at least in this den-like corner,…

  • Unbundled incense

    In his year-end Opinion, David Brooks of the NYTimes recited a story about people in Louisiana who had lighted a candle for neighbor’s graves. This year-end here in Vietnam, I saw just that and more…incense, flowers and fruit. People are either already home or on the way. They cook, clean and cater to many needs,…

  • Street sweeping in Saigon

    I saw a funeral pouring out onto the sidewalk one day, and on the same  block, a wedding the day after. Meanwhile, the street sweeper just went about his business of sweeping, regardless. Even if they could use some industrial-grade sweepers, people prefer man to machine. This solves labor problems. Scavengers make their daily routes by offering…

  • Long’s last laugh

    My friend had a square jaw. When he laughed, his features became more pronounced. Already taller than most, he carried himself above the fold. Not all kids in my school went to the Conservatory. You had to have talent. For that brief year in 7th grade, he joined us at music practice. “Can you play…

  • Death-affirming culture

    During lunch time at my first job (Child Welfare Bureau at Indian Town Gap, PA), we threw a football, my first. That was supposed to be my induction into the Penn State culture the following Fall. Here in Vietnam, at lunch time, I walk by a casket store. As equally shocking for foreigners as my…

  • Slippery Saigon

    Someone told me that the rainy season here would end soon. Yet it is raining still. Outdoor activities like kung-fu class, xe-om, beer stalls all ceased. I seeked shelters . The trick to walk safely here is to step firmly with one foot into the sidewalk, not at its edge (which slopes down to facilitate…

  • Art expressions in most unlikely places

    You would have never thought of running into people ballroom-dancing in the park. But here in GoVap new park, where the young trees are still being nursed, and the lights barely lit up, people came out and did just that. Young and old, male and female, they came out when the heat started to ease.…

  • Crossed markets

    Forbes kept praising the success of luxury brands in China while web sites in Vietnam and China mentioned “Pepper Spray on Black Friday”. Chinese-made goods, sold as lost leaders, to the first 100-early-bird shoppers. Planned scarcity. Hype-creation. Sensational, sizzling headline-grabbing video op for YouTube. We need attention. The media need it even more. (For some counter-intuitive…

  • Traffic turns attraction

    Crunch time in Ho chi Minh City. A nuisance for many yet a photo-op for tourists. Millions in ponchos, helmets, dust masks, sunglasses fighting for every inch (centimeter here) to get  home in the pouring rain, while tourists leisurely strolled the colonial side walks in shorts, sandals and Sony cameras trying to record their trips.…

  • Thu Thiem and Cu Chi

    Both have tunnels, but Thu Thiem‘s has just been built and visited mostly by Viet natives. Cu Chi tunnels however is a backpackers’ must-see. Going through Thu Thiem Tunnel, you feel like you were in Louisiana or Baltimore. It unveils the future of  Vietnam, where ferry workers now work as toll booth collectors. District 2 is…