Thang Nguyen 555
Cultures on Collision Course
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Tag: Philippines
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How many among us actually put in that many hours pursuing one thing? Yet studies show it takes that much practice to master a skill or a trade. That long to promote ourselves to the rank of outlier : Bill Gates coding skill, the Beatles smooth performance etc… Today marks my first 10,000 views of…
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It’s my first time at Van’s Cafe, 46 Pham Ngoc Thach, District 1 Saigon on Sunday morning. And I found myself walking into the door with 2 musicians I know: Mr Hai, on base guitar, and Quoc Dat (blind but extremely gifted jazz pianist, and a student of my now deceased friend.). Before I knew it, people…
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Some of us who still remember the Cold War remember how easy things were: black and white. Everything else “Third World.” Now, the Third World has emerged. Hence, we live in a multi-polar world. More complicated world. More are at stake. People wheel and deal. Purchasing parity has become less of a parity. Trading up and trading…
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Scientists just found out that Earth is much older than previously thought. It certainly has a way to maintain itself. Remember Tsunami and Fukushima? or the Louisiana oil spill and Katrina? At the time, we thought we couldn’t bear the grunt, but one by one, they are now behind us. Same thing with this summer ‘s drought and…
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38 years ago I ate those three items not in one day, not in one vessel, and not in one country. Instant noodles out in International Waters under firing rockets, oranges aboard a USS vessel and finally, a sandwich in Subic Bay, Philippines. After that hellish trip, plane foods, hotel foods, cafeteria foods all taste better.…
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The phenomenon known as Middle-Income Trap is alive and well in SouthEast Asia. Not all boats rise with the water. Contentment sets in and gets in the way of progress. Countries like the Philippines, Malaysia and Indonesia are in this trap. From a global perspective, they could do better if getting over the hump. Yet…
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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…
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Time heals all wounds. It also ushers in a generation, now in high school and college. Here in Vietnam, students have classes on Saturdays and even Sundays. Kids of all ages, in uniforms or out of, but always with a backpack, riding on wheels of all types: bikes, electric bikes, scooters, sedans, and buses. They…
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We are diamond in rough cuts. 7 billion of us. The stats show the costs of raising a child in the US at roughly $200,000. With educational score cards showing flat line, while other countries are on the up tick (albeit Shanghai focused on rote learning and test preparation), policy makers might have to offshore…
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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 awaited their flights to the US.…
Thang Nguyen 555 