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: Shanghai

  • The thrill of a trip

    Essentials only. Portable stuff. Restricted carry-on. Off we go. Leaving behind the desk top, roof top and all  the stuff on the counter-top. While traveling, we put on more weight. Eating “lesser-of-the-two-evils” choice of foods. Meeting and making small talks with people we had never met. It’s  a thrill nevertheless. The exchange of goods and…

  • Saigon Skyline

    Like a scene from Cinema Paradiso (when the film producer returned to his village just to find out his beloved movie house demolished for a parking lot) I too start seeing the skyline of Saigon rising, blocking the old bank where my sister used to work. Another one is being planned next to cho Ben Thanh…

  • Au cinema

    When Facebook profile (soon to be called Timeline) needs me to complete my favorite movie section, I put down Cinema Paradiso. It’s in Blu-ray now (Oscar-winning, well-preserved quality). It’s about growing up in an Italian village, with the cinema , Cinema Paradiso, as central theme. It was later demolished to make room for a parking lot.…

  • On becoming

    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…

  • Mars or marble

    Have you submitted your name to be shuttled up to Mars?  Space and sea travel or your names on Mars and not marble. This is to show our preference for progress over permanence  – technology over religion. While it’s good to sit on one of the benches with our parent’s names “in memory of…”, it’s…

  • Up the value chain

    China is dreaming up its own Silicon Valley. http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=127742250&ft=1&f=1017 Its young are flocking NE universities in the summer, learning about American culture and history. While in San Jose, they visit Tech Museum. Are ideas and innovation moving offshore? I was told to “follow the money”. Does anyone know what time it is? Doesn’t anyone even…