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: Moon

  • Murakami’s worlds

    Once in a while, we stumble upon an author, just to follow his trail of thoughts. Haruki Murakami is one of those He too likes writing and running. Not to mention his out-of-this-worldliness (Moon vs Sun). Murakami’s world often consists of characters who feel detached, more like an observer than participant. They struggle and strive, often times never…

  • Perceived message

    Message received often times is different from message intended. Wrong timing. Different context and stress level. Words that inadvertently trigger negative emotions. We live and learn. It’s not easy to get across, at both cognitive and emotive levels. Male are known for missing emotional signals more often than female. That’s why long distance relationships are hard.…

  • Moon Cake

    You can’t possibly finish one all by yourself. In fact, when I was a kid, I remembered it got cut up not into four but eight pieces, like we would with a Costco pizza. Slices of sweet moon cake, in all varieties. Big confectionary  revenue every year in China and Vietnam. Although it’s a Children…

  • Monsoon and Moonfest

    Overhearing some people talking about rain in Dalat, Vietnam‘s mountainous area, I thought back to a time and a place where innocence was shred like old skin. You see, growing up in Vietnam even in the midst of the war, was still something to be cherished. You might have neighbor’s funeral with flag draped over…

  • The flow

    We woke to all sorts of noise, among them the flow of traffic. Resting by the lake after my few-mile run in the heat, I noticed all sorts of creatures: squirrels, rabbits and ducks. As peaceful as could be, yet we don’t often say “I’ve got peace like a lake”. We say, “I ‘ve got…

  • 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…

  • Strange sounds, familiar shores

    Instead of “I woke up to the sound of music, Mother Mary comes to me…” like Paul McCartney, I woke up to strange sounds these days: peddlers who use “low tech” au parleur (bull horn) mounted on bicycles or tri-cycles (selling boot-legged CD‘s). In fact, it was my first time got chased by pleasant sound from…

  • from gook to geek

    It’s been a while since The Right Stuff was released. Gabby’s husband (Mark Kelly) was going back on the last Endeavor mission. The President referred to our Sputnik moment , and how we should move Science Fair under the Super (Bowl) dome. All this reminds me of a piece of moon rock on display by USAID…

  • My machine vs yours

    When Henry Ford put together two motor cycles side by side to invent the automobile, he wasn’t interested in pleasing his customers, “you can have any color you want, as long as it’s black”.  Now, car turns commodity, the Chinese came up with Cherry, the pink car designed to please its female customers  Bye bye…

  • summer breeze

    Rolling black-outs in the city occur here quite often. So it’s refreshing to ride through District 1, where the Saigon River occasionally delivers some wind-tunnel effect. Lightings are up to prepare for the upcoming holidays. Bakeries are setting up kiosks everywhere in town, pushing their Moon cakes. We got Givral joining the confectionary space traditionally belongs to…