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: KFC

  • Go a bit more native

    In 2000, after 25 years of being away, I made a short trip back to Vietnam. What a culture shock (especially when I landed in Hanoi, where I had only heard about). Twelve years. A dozen trips later. A little deeper into the alleys and byways. I think I have touched on different parts of the proverbial…

  • Fast foods invasion

    It’s kind of redundancy. Fast foods in Saigon? The place has already been fast. I don’t know if fast foods will help. At Saigon Central (train depot), I was told to take a number and wait (the way Carl Jr would do in the US) for my fries. Saigon is not used to mono-chronistic tempo…

  • Madonna and child

    Not the Seine in Paris. But Rach Nhieu Loc in Saigon. She wore a cone hat. Baby tanning in the morning sun, resting in her bosom. The other hand, she checked her messages from a mobile phone. It’s  Thanksgiving in Vietnam. People  have a lot to be thankful for. It’s now ranked second on Happy Country…

  • Besides perspiration

    Hard work is a given, a prereq for success. But that necessary spark, the 10% inspiration, must be there. Two candidates, with  equal experience, the one with a great attitude wins. You must have the mojo. It shows up in conversation, in off-hand moments (kicking the dog on the way out or giving the finger in…

  • Social dynamics

    Like aerodynamics,  social dynamics involve working with conflicts, not avoiding them. Since we are all made differently, we accept change at various speed. That’s why some ideas are voted down immediately. Others might take some arm-twisting. For instance, it took a while for some emerging countries to introduce the condoms. Used to be a cultural taboo to mention…

  • My Saigon

    Like Trinh Cong Son‘s Diem Xua, I got my own imprints of what  Saigon was like. Especially on Sundays, like today. Shaded streets, short strolls and sweet smiles. Who needs all the executive shirt with designers’ emblem on it. Instead of shirt, just smile even when you are not on camera. “Cuoi len di em oi” Just…

  • Rain and tears

    In the three months that I was in Vietnam, I have seen more rain and tears than 3 years in the US. When it rains, it pours. Then, it all of a sudden clears up. Branches and trees start to breathe and “branch out”. The tears’ part came from funerals that have a way to…

  • Moon Alley

    Last night, when I got back to my alley, I thought they had turned on extra lighting. Turned out I did not notice that it was full moon. No wonder people were going to the Temple, buying and selling fake dollars for the dead. It was supposed to be the second important date on the…

  • Vietnam goes “social”

    Mark Zuckerberg is here for Christmas vacation. http://english.vietnamnet.vn/en/science-technology/16933/facebook-s-ceo-visits-vietnam.html Perhaps he would find a striking difference between the way people celebrate the Holidays here as opposed to Northern California. In the US, the joke is “if you got tired of the Turkey, you can always order Chinese”. McDonald’ s and KFC‘s are closed. One culture withdraws…

  • Vietnam, next Hong Kong?

    On my first trip to Hong Kong summer 1981, I was taken in by the energy and entrepreneurial spirit there. A camera shop (pre-Iphone era) next to a watch shop (again, pre-Ipad era) next to an electronics store.  Shoppers from India, Europe, Australia were all there, bustling about. Double-deck buses (still under British colonial rule) moved…