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

  • Calling on Leaders

    Mongolian Khan, upon his first day out of jail, jumped on the horse to lead his nation to new height. Lennon and Yoko still purchased full-page ad in the NYT to run the same poster as they did 40 years ago “WAR IS OVER, if you want it”. With the new digital order, thought-leaders emerged…

  • 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…

  • VINA MOUSE

    Last week, an op-ed in the NYT lamented the death of Disney dream in America. This week, they signed a multi-million dollar deal to build HappyLand in Long An, Vietnam. The dream doesn’t die. It simply moved offshore. Imagine you can tour both Cu Chi Tunnel and HappyLand in one full sweep. The new Vietnam…

  • From sleigh to moped

    http://www.economist.com/blogs/asiaview/2010/12/christmas_vietnam Ho, Ho, Ho in Ho Chi Minh City. Toys for tots, delivered by Santa on moped. When the US pulled out of Vietnam, it played “White Christmas” on Armed Forces radio. Now, it’s peace-time Vietnam, where people enjoy every bit of cotton and confetti used to decorate the city’s manger. I was there two…

  • The road most traveled

    Fireplace (fake or real), Christmas tree (fake or real) and toy boxes (stuffed or life-sized), all put together to create a Hollywood home version of  White Christmas, the illusion that we are OK and what-and-how-much we charged at the registers won’t haunt us in late January. In America, the road most traveled has been to…

  • Act 2

    At the gym, I couldn’t help notice two guys with Mountain-Dew T-shirt. We can still have “black swan” scenario in our life time e.g. the US rises again from the depth of deficit (muscle memory), or someday a Hispanic president will seek a M&A with Mexico (will not be the first time the US offer…

  • Time to heal

    Of the 5 stages of grief, the first one goes away the quickest (denial). The last stage, acceptance, takes the longest (not without some relapses). I wass at my parent’s graves this past Thanksgiving. A bit of acceptance there. Trophies, college degrees and even old business cards showed our accomplishments. But they are not indicators…

  • Maggie, I still have something to say

    Saw Rod Stewart on TV, mute out sound at the gym. Still with the spiked up hair, shiny suit and swaying. Staying power and loyal fan base. My daughter asked “what’s that word to mean someone who because of him/her, you model after”. I tried “influencer”, “role model“, “mentor” and hit the note with “idol”.…

  • Never too old to salivate

    I was there on Black Friday.  95 North. Wal-Mart stop. I saw shoppers pushing carts filled with wireless printers, Blu-ray players and flat screen TV’s. The only other time you see people taking stuff from the store in the dark was during the LA riot or Katrina. Just as soon as one comfortably sat back…

  • Mom’s Poinsettia

    It’s that time of the year again, when Poinsettia are everywhere, from Walgreen to Walmart. I saw it in my Mom’s assisted living back when she was still alive. That pair-association stuck with me: Mama-Poinsettia. We have buried in our CPUs millions of those pairings: white-blue/school uniform, fruit-cake/Christmas,  peanut butter/GI ration …( in Vietnam, it’s…