vietnam

A Vietnamese tradition inspires a genealogical journey

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Here's my latest essay for VNExpress International. In it I mention a December 2021 article From New England to Vietnam: Settler Colonialism in Cross-Cultural Perspective that was published behind a paywall. Since VNExpress doesn't include links to other sites, follow this link to another blog post to read it free of charge. Photo courtesy of … Continue reading A Vietnamese tradition inspires a genealogical journey

Trash, Trash, Everywhere, Everywhere!

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Photo by MAA. This is a common sight in Viet Nam, especially in the countryside. Like a magnet, a small trash dump becomes a large one. Let's take a partial inventory of the items in this disgusting pile of garbage, shall we? ---lots of plastic bags (it can take up to 1,000 years for a … Continue reading Trash, Trash, Everywhere, Everywhere!

Some Reminders for US Higher Education Colleagues: It’s Still a Jungle Out There

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Courtesy of IT Governance Services My first post of Solar 2022! When it comes to working with partners in the educational consulting industry, choose carefully, as with all relationships, personal and professional. Here are some of the unethical practices I've written about that continue unabated because of a lack of oversight and accountability in this … Continue reading Some Reminders for US Higher Education Colleagues: It’s Still a Jungle Out There

Another Year of Living (and Dying) with COVID-19

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As 2021 draws to a merciful close, I thought this would be a good time to glance at the latest COVID-19 stats in Viet Nam, including the ones that give me and others hope. While most people tend to obsess over the daily number of infections, I periodically check the number of vaccinations because a vaccinated … Continue reading Another Year of Living (and Dying) with COVID-19

Christmas in Vietnam: bookending a long festival season

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Here's my latest essay for VNExpress International. Even though the percentage of Vietnamese who celebrate December 25 as the birth of Jesus Christ is in the single digits, Christmas has evolved into a full-fledged secular holiday in recent years. A sure sign Christmas is approaching is when elaborate and colorful holiday displays at banks and … Continue reading Christmas in Vietnam: bookending a long festival season

From New England to Vietnam: Settler Colonialism in Cross-Cultural Perspective

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I've been working on a long-form essay that combines my interest in history and genealogy. Since so many of my ancestors arrived in what became British Colonial America and later the USA, starting in 1610 and 1620, the historical is intensely personal for me. I write as a direct and collateral descendant of Jamestown settlers … Continue reading From New England to Vietnam: Settler Colonialism in Cross-Cultural Perspective

Dogs as Best Friends & Restaurant Dishes

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This poor dog probably either ended up at a dog meat (thịt chó) restaurant or was resold. Purebred dogs fetch a higher price. Other dogs invariably end up at the former. I've driven by many of these restaurants men chowing down on dog meat and consuming large quantities of alcohol in what one website described … Continue reading Dogs as Best Friends & Restaurant Dishes

More Data on Vietnamese Students in the USA

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Here are the latest Viet Nam-related stats from the SEVIS October 2021 update. (You can also access these data using this interactive map.) The picture is decidedly mixed with equal portions good, bad, and ugly. There are currently 24,011 students from Viet Nam at all levels, mostly in higher education. Viet Nam ranks 6th among … Continue reading More Data on Vietnamese Students in the USA