Photo by MAA. Taken in early October 2023 in Hanoi. These are people most of us ignore or worse look down on. They roam the streets of Hanoi and other cities on their rickety bicycles or aging motorbikes looking for recyclable material they can sell at a very modest profit. When I saw this woman … Continue reading Hail The Scrap Collectors and Scavengers!
Author: Mark A. Ashwill
Micro-Illustration of a Linear Economy in Action
I took this photo near my Hanoi office. No, this is not litter, although there's plenty of that to go around; it's one way that garbage is disposed of in the nation's cities. Throw it to the curb and the street cleaners will pick it up and put it in their mobile bins. From there … Continue reading Micro-Illustration of a Linear Economy in Action
Death by System: A Two-Generation Tale of Loss and Betrayal
I always wondered about the fate of the man buried next to my father, knowing he died a year earlier in Vietnam at the age of 23. This is the story of what brought them to their eternal resting place. Writing it was a labor of love, sadness, and regret, the imagination of what could … Continue reading Death by System: A Two-Generation Tale of Loss and Betrayal
International students are so much more than cash cows
Image: iStock Here's my latest article for University World News. My original title was Towards a More Inclusive Approach to International Student Advocacy. Truth be told, the tone and direction of the essay changed after some email exchanges with Fanta Aw, the new CEO of NAFSA: Association of International Educators. Her perspective is a breath of … Continue reading International students are so much more than cash cows
Vietnamese American Poet’s Slide Down the Slippery Slope of Hatred
LD's Official Substack Photo Below are some excerpts from the beginning of an essay about Linh Dinh, a self-described "canceled" and "anthologized poet and fairly prolific author..." It's a sad but important story that I took no great pleasure in writing. I thought of the many acquaintances, friends, colleagues, and the millions I will never … Continue reading Vietnamese American Poet’s Slide Down the Slippery Slope of Hatred
The Cognitive Bias Codex
I continue to follow Dr. Poornima Luthra's work on LinkedIn with great interest. This is from a recent post about how biases can take many forms. In her words: Most biases can be divided into two broad categories: 1️⃣ identity-related biases2️⃣ situation-related/information processing biasesLast week, we looked at identity-related biases so let’s turn our attention … Continue reading The Cognitive Bias Codex
The Pale Blue Dot of Earth
There is perhaps no better demonstration of the folly of human conceits than this distant image of our tiny world. To me, it underscores our responsibility to deal more kindly with one another and to preserve and cherish the pale blue dot, the only home we've ever known. -Carl Sagan In case you need a … Continue reading The Pale Blue Dot of Earth
Obesity: A Curse Passed Down from Parent to Child
As seen recently at a restaurant in Ha Long in northern Vietnam. Full disclosure (and trigger alert?): In Vietnam, people use the word "fat" (béo) to describe those who are overweight or obese. There's no sugarcoating this reality, no euphemisms, just a brutally honest adjective. It made me sad to see this little girl sitting … Continue reading Obesity: A Curse Passed Down from Parent to Child
Another Visit to Ha Long Bay: And the Beat Goes On
My first visit to Ha Long Bay was in 1996. Vietnam was still poor, which meant the consumer economy had yet to kick into high gear. As a result, the environment was cleaner. The lack of money meant little to no development and a much more beautiful cityscape, such as it was, and a cleaner … Continue reading Another Visit to Ha Long Bay: And the Beat Goes On
A Hanoi Restaurant That Lives in the Past
The Only Constant in Life Is Change. -Heraclitus The Vietnamese beer in the old Asahi glass says it all. 😢 We decided to go to a Japanese restaurant that we patronize regularly back in the day. (I will omit its name to protect the guilty.) The place was always hopping, full of customers, including many … Continue reading A Hanoi Restaurant That Lives in the Past
An International Educator in Vietnam 
You must be logged in to post a comment.