Season’s Greetings from MAA & Capstone Vietnam!

Dear Friends & Colleagues, Wishing all of you and your families a joyous holiday season and a New Year filled with peace, love and happiness! While Viet Nam is predominantly a Buddhist country, there are Christmas trees and decorations everywhere and many people get in the holiday spirit. This includes thousands of people milling around … Continue reading Season’s Greetings from MAA & Capstone Vietnam!

Agent Orange, Exposed: How U.S. Chemical Warfare in Vietnam Unleashed a Slow-Moving Disaster

More than 10 years of U.S. chemical warfare in Vietnam exposed an estimated 2.1 to 4.8 million Vietnamese people to Agent Orange. More than 40 years on, the impact on their health has been staggering. Yes, this article is from 2017 but is still making the rounds and the damage wrought by this war legacy … Continue reading Agent Orange, Exposed: How U.S. Chemical Warfare in Vietnam Unleashed a Slow-Moving Disaster

My Starbucks Story: Made in Viet Nam

During my first year or so in Viet Nam, i.e., I emailed Howard Schultz, then CEO of Starbucks.  I noticed that a number of coffee chains, including Trung Nguyen and Highlands, were charging Starbucks' prices for coffee drinks, snacks, etc.  These cafes attracted Vietnamese of means who could easily afford a few dollars for a … Continue reading My Starbucks Story: Made in Viet Nam

The Importance of Showing International Applicants THE LOVE

Once upon a time, there was a Vietnamese transfer student in the US who was planning to attend one  university and ended up accepting an offer from another.  Here are the main reasons:     1.  The other school has better communication with students, including sending them a note on their birthday and more frequent updates.   … Continue reading The Importance of Showing International Applicants THE LOVE

Air quality app under ‘coordinated attack’ in Vietnam amid heavy Hanoi smog

Sometimes, the truth hurts but it's also useful in solving problems, both individual and societal.  You know the expression, "The first step in solving a problem is recognizing there is one."  Here are two key paragraphs from this 7 October Reuters piece about Hanoi's recent and cyclical air pollution problem and some misguided attempts to … Continue reading Air quality app under ‘coordinated attack’ in Vietnam amid heavy Hanoi smog

Keep Viet Nam Beautiful! Gìn giữ Việt Nam tươi đẹp!

Vietnam is the fourth-largest contributor to marine plastic pollution globally, a 2015 study by the University of Georgia showed. I took the above photo during a recent trip to Ha Long Bay, a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1994 and one of the natural wonders of the world.  While the water is often described as … Continue reading Keep Viet Nam Beautiful! Gìn giữ Việt Nam tươi đẹp!

Education investment catching attention

Here's an informative article from the September 2019 issue of Vietnam Economic Times about the growth of private education in Viet Nam.  The introductory paragraph should whet your appetite for more, assuming you have at least a casual interest in this topic. The International School @ ParkCity Hanoi (ISPH) will officially welcome hundreds of students to study … Continue reading Education investment catching attention