Thang Nguyen 555
Cultures on Collision Course
recent posts
about
Tag: Vietnam
-
Mr Tarr, head of the Vietnam draft lottery, has died at age of 88 in Walnut Creek, CA. A Nixon appointee, he headed Selective Service in 1970. He heard a lot of “Hell No, We Won’t Go”. And now, his number is up. I wonder how those who survive him, still lingering in the Canadian…
-
We here are people who fled Vietnam in various waves (pre-1975, 1975, and post-1975) and have settled in Little Saigon, Orange County, CA. I have seen the strip transformed, from a few stores to be what it is today: patch work of mini plazas interlacing with mobile home parks, often times, reflections of the boom and…
-
When Starbucks opened its first store in Saigon, it must have been a big blast. Centrally located, visibly in-your-face, upscale e.g. wifi and air-conditioned. Early stage. When I had my cup of Starbucks, like this morning, in a Virginian Mall, there was no fanfare, no fuss. Late stage. Same store and story (pour your heart into…
-
In all my stops in London, Zurich, Cote D’Ivoire, Monrovia, Ghana, Hong Kong, Manila, Mexico, Montreal, I formed good impressions of each locality and people. When I came back to Vietnam in 2000 and on subsequent trips, I did the same even in the worst of scenes e.g. how could that guy without legs drag himself on the street selling lottery tickets!…
-
It’s Chinese New Year morning. Except there weren’t a lot of Vietnamese around. They were here yesterday, and last week. But apparently, on this cold Sunday morning, gym wasn’t their priority. Attention is devoted to festivals and festivities at the Temples, in the park and at the fair. Like in-country counterparts, they would put on…
-
I touched on this slightly in another blog. It’s about growing up never knew if my grandparents even smiled at all (I gathered this from the black and white photos in the family album). We are still shackled by the analog world which tells us to stand straight and stare straight into the lenses (36 poses…
-
One person to himself. One or more chatting, arguing, agreeing. Then, a multi-lingual gathering, with or without a headset, with a bilingual person in the middle, trying to transport the weight behind loaded words. In Chinese Zodiac, Jackie Chan tried to smooth out intercultural tension by giving an opposite translation from the intended message. We also…
-
In 2000, after 25 years of being away, I made a short trip back to Vietnam. What a culture shock (especially when I landed in Hanoi, where I had only heard about). Twelve years. A dozen trips later. A little deeper into the alleys and byways. I think I have touched on different parts of the proverbial…
-
40 years on since the last US combat boots pulled out of Vietnam. Today, Starbucks lady returns, luring passer-by amidst the town square. Senator Kerry is getting his confirmation while a 40-year-old Vietnamese couldn’t tell an American from a Russian. Vietnam is just a name, like Iraq will be 4 decades from now. Vietnam today has Vespas…
-
From papyrus to paper, from microfiche to microphone, we use technology for knowledge transfer. Learning is a great motivator. Once started it never stops (in my death-bed, I probably still ask the attending nurse what all those charts mean, and why not this and that). Don’t believe in learning curve (as if once you got…
Thang Nguyen 555 