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: Singapore

  • FICO and self

    For a small fee, we can take a look of our credit worthiness. But it takes a long time to realize  self-worthiness. None among us has the future vantage point to look backward. We often hear about the magic power of MLM. In good times, yes. In bad times, those multi “levels” quickly become weakest…

  • The Y bridge

    Years ago, I met a GI in West Virginia. He couldn’t recall the name of a bridge in Saigon, only that it’s a fork on the road. I blurted out, “the Y bridge”. Something came rushing out of the man’s eyes albeit well-hidden behind thick glasses. He was instantly transported back to a time and…

  • Saigon heat

    Rain and heat, the yin and yan of Saigon. I saw sugar donuts on sale, so I thought of my niece who used to love those melted brown sugar donuts. I tried one. It chipped away my tooth, which happened to be the base  for neighbouring crown. So I had to plant back all three. Costly…

  • butterfly in the sky

    Amidst traffic and smog, a black/yellow butterfly dances its way through the intersection, bouncing from motor bike to motor bike. I shouldn’t have paid too much attention to the creature. I need to worry about my safety. But it struck me as odd. All concrete in the city with only few trees left in old…

  • Saigon in motion

    A couch floats down the river right pass Bong Bridge a while ago. As of this edit, there was a “hot” clip about police trying to stop a girl from jumping to her death on another bridge. Vietnam still has to battle with forces of nature, (typhoon Utor) and economic pressures  (bad debt). Here, before…

  • tricycle economy

    Easy to propel forward. Easy to stop and stand still. No fear of falling (gravity) and no incentive to pedal forward (inertia). The blessing and curse of a stimulus-dependent economy. To move  forward, one needs to fight both gravity and inertia. An extra wheel offers the illusion that things are stable and safe. But it…

  • low-emission Recession

    The Law of Unintended Consequences kicks in: we got 25% lower in carbon emission this past year, and maybe lower gas prices toward year-end. Extra cash for Christmas shopping: kids need shoes. Nation leaders are flying in to NY to attend a Summit on the Environment. Big boys (and powerful women) club. Hope they represent…