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: Starbucks

  • Cafe sua da

    Lately, articles about “banh mi” started to appear in the Bay area publications. What should have accompanied those articles was Cafe sua da (Iced cafe-au-lait). The coffee chamber sat on the cup. Hot water drips down, one drip at a time, on top of condensed milk. Bitter and sweet, hot and cold. It’s a night-and-day difference from coffee…

  • Ole friends as mirrors

    We finally met, at Starbucks. 3 classmates. 39 years and a huge ocean in between. We could have just waited. Starbucks is opening up in Vietnam soon. But there we were: the skinny, the fat and the ugly (me). Past, present, past. Time interlacing. No preset agenda. No chronological order, or Robert’s rules of order.…

  • Life’s soundtrack

    I have just received a photo showing a hot-air balloon over Seattle, with me and Geoffrey in the basket. We just need a soundtrack to add to it. The puffy hot air, the wind which carried us over the lush-green scenery with Bill Gates himself living on the ground. If given a choice, I choose “Theme…

  • Culture shock, future shock, aftershock

    We just saw an aftershock in Japan at magnitude 7.0. In and of itself, it’s a major earthquake. But, since it had been preceded by the big one (9.0), it is pale in comparison. As to culture shock, a man from the Amazon who got transported to Seattle, WA will only hear one thing in common: Amazon.com. The…

  • Austin

    Tech campus turned Mall (still keeps the “DOMAIN” name). Borders out of business, but Apple store is thriving. Austin, ranked as most tolerant city in America, saw Chinese Graduate students hang out leisurely on a Sunday afternoon, complete with rocking chairs, very well be made in China. Welcome to America. Welcome to Starbucks. What’s your name buddy? My…

  • On Seeing

    With YouTube, Skype Video and 4-G network, we will be watching a lot of video. Some content was finally “remastered” to be added on to the collective archive in the cloud. Yet, we neglect to clean our lenses and learn to see as if for the first time. The sense of wonder, curiosity, marvel, or…

  • Vietnamize the franchise

    Carl Jr, Starbucks, Hard Rock Cafe, KFC, BK, MacDonald, Circle K, Domino, Pizza Hut. The age of franchise bull run. When I said I had been to 40+ cities in N America, I actually meant, I have been to only one. The one with MacDonald, Starbucks, Walmart, Target etc… You got the idea. The funny…

  • Third place, third screen, third world

    Known as the third place (away from home and work), Starbucks did not stop after opening up in Forbidden City, China. It has just opened for business in Vietnam (where the I-phone, our third screen – after TV and desktop – recently made a stirring appearance). Vietnam young consumer segment and older generations with French-cafe…

  • Monk in Wal-Mart

    God, guns and country. Then, a monk, not outside of Wal-Mart soliciting for donation, but inside, at the cashier line, waiting to pay. It’s a common sight today. But by turning the clock back a few decades, you wouldn’t expect both (Monk and Wal-Mart) to coexist. At least, it’s not quite as contrast a sight…

  • A girl walks into a bar…

    We all need a “third place” (neither home nor office) to let our hair down. It used to be Cheers-like place “where everybody knows your name“. And lately, it’s been Starbucks, which struck a yuppie nerve (male and female). With the lingering recession, I suspect that jokes will have to start with “a girl walks…