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: Vietnam

  • Saigon Central (Ga Saigon)

    The track is still there. So is the prominent display of coal locomotive. Hard to get there though, tuck in the back of winding District 3 streets. I checked out the logistic and lay-out: upstairs for ticketing, and downstairs with hamburger stores. My sister loves to take train to Hanoi. She grew up reading the Hunchback of…

  • The 11th law

    Forbes ran a piece on the 10 laws for our century i.e. Metcalfe, Moore etc… Encompassed above should be the Golden Rule, the 11th law. Committed to communicate and collaborate. Contribution. Do unto others. Racing to the top, but also helping others to get there. I experimented with the Asian model of running a sales…

  • Take it up one notch

    I am all for PE (Physical Education). This trend has picked up in Vietnam; all the powers to young people. Gold gym, Cali gym, NVK gym, Nhat Dang Nhi Da etc…. Let’s go. One and two. Lift those arms, kick those legs. Be healthy and be green. (I have blogged too much about death and caskets, since I live…

  • House of Rising Sun

    One of my first guitar solos was House of Rising Sun. Chu Van An High School music room, with two electric guitars, one bass guitar and a drum set. Long was on bass, Son counted the beat and Hung, son of a dancing instructor, played rhythm. And one, and two: Am, C …. And so we…

  • Place of Death

    Patricia Conwell has made a chunk of change with her Medical Examiner (Kate) character. Manner of death . In Vietnam, it’s the place of death that matters. If one dies in a street accident, the casket will be placed out on the sidewalk for the three-day mourning. You can always learn something new here. Meals…

  • Mobile books

    I was waiting for my scooter ride outside Cho Ray Hospital when a peddler approached me. “Want to pick something to read?”. Turned out, she was selling used books, in a box: Cu Chi Tunnel, My Lai Massacre, When Heaven and Earth Changed Places, Sorrows of War, Understanding Vietnam… Those subjects are now as old…

  • instant noodles, orange and sandwich

    38 years ago I ate those three items not in one day, not in one vessel, and not in one country. Instant noodles out in International Waters under firing rockets, oranges aboard a USS vessel and finally, a sandwich in Subic Bay, Philippines. After that hellish trip, plane foods, hotel foods, cafeteria foods all taste better.…

  • Leaving your heart behind

    Home for the holidays. For my students at least. For me, 37 years ago, I was feeling on edge. One-way with no return. Yet, it has been possible for me to return and work here in Vietnam. To see students prepared for studying abroad. But their leaving has a promise of a return (two-way). Many…

  • I love

    Our own Duc Huy has sung “Toi yeu…nhung loi noi thanh that, toi yeu ly ca-phe buoi sang” (I love sincere comments, .. morning cup of coffee). So do I. Especially when it’s cappuccino prepared with care and passion by our UVT Hospitality students. They even brought it up to my office (perk!). I love…

  • Unlikely place

    Ugliness and evil exist in unlikely places. So are beauty and goodness. A vulnerable butterfly dancing in rush-hour traffic, an innocent child on the way home from periodic check-ups. Life offers us not an a-la-cart menu, but a buffet. Fill up not with french fries and jello. Yet at the same time, eat not in…