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: United States

  • Shame and Stigma

    Making small talks on New Year‘s morning, I mentioned various distant relatives, among whom a handsome ping-pong playing cousin of mine. I remembered him as 60’s looking, hair, glasses and short shorts. He was later married with kids before got  sent to re-education camp. While he was away, his wife had an affair and made…

  • Unbundled incense

    In his year-end Opinion, David Brooks of the NYTimes recited a story about people in Louisiana who had lighted a candle for neighbor’s graves. This year-end here in Vietnam, I saw just that and more…incense, flowers and fruit. People are either already home or on the way. They cook, clean and cater to many needs,…

  • Culture decoding online

    The Great Gatsby got another round of remake, this time in 3-D. With help of steady cam, we are invited into his mansion of many rooms. This should give a feel for the place and Gatsby’s desire to revenge through success. We too ,with IT 3.0-enabled, can take our “Monte Christo” acts online. For years, we were passive…

  • One-legged work-out

    Most people are out to celebrate the upcoming New Year (Tet). Dzzzzzzzzzzzzo! Heineken toast! Except for one young man, crutches aside, lifted his body (one leg dangling, the other with flipping blue jeans) up to train his upper-body. Now, that got my attention. I complimented him on finding out the right angle to wrap his hands around…

  • Less is more

    In reading Steve Jobs, a theme keeps emerge: less is more. He cut out the fat and all its distraction. (being a veggie, he stayed true to form). His closet was full of the same long-sleeve stretch shirt that defined his personal brand. His take on wealth and money was also consistent with his 60’s philosophy. Steve…

  • un film de Coppola

    I heard “Bonjour Vietnam” again last night…”un film de Coppola…” http://stanmark.multiply.com/reviews/item/9?&show_interstitial=1&u=%2Freviews%2Fitem It evoked psychedelic images and texture of horror (adapted from  Conrad’s Heart of  Darkness.) Yet we were sitting in a boutique studio, with aged ladies sang along to Le Uyen Phuong’ s Last Word to You , equivalent of Bono and Cher: “let’s lay down one last…

  • Neither East Nor West

    Orhan Pamuk must be born of “Other Colors” and in the “Snow” who later built his “Museum of Innocence“. He got the Nobel Prize for his unique perspective and perception on being in the middle of things: Istanbul. Pamuk invited us back to his childhood, to view changes through a child’s eyes “when we watched the…

  • Mom’s Ao Dai

    Mom’s Ao Dai

    When I saw a Vietnamese woman on motor bike with helmet, mask, sunglasses, messenger pouch, gloves and Ao-Dai steering her scooter while holding a baby on their way to the sitter, it brought back memories of Mom’s dress. She was a schoolteacher, deeply committed to and consistent in her multiple roles: mother, teacher, wife, daughter-in-law…

  • Maybe all we need is time

    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…

  • Micro Resolution

    When you were young and with others, you wanted to start a revolution. But if you were young, but alone, you might want New Year Resolution e.g. diet, “biggest loser”, learning Spanish, pick up a new skill set. Then when you have been around the block a few times, you still think of New Year…