Imagining the Global

...an NW5C initiative 2014–15

Think Again Before Drinking a Cà Phê Sữa Đá

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When I fist started writing this post, I wanted to talk about coffee farming in the Central Highlands of Vietnam. There certainly is no lack of interesting things to say about it and no doubt I could pull a couple of graphs from our class readings to help illustrate my point, but then I realized […]

Turning a Blind Eye to Environmental Issues in the Mekong Delta

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Miss Tho our tour guide through the Mekong Delta pointed out many rising environmental issues in the region and mentioned that the few citizens that are aware of them are not concerned or have bigger, more urgent concerns to focus on. Some of the biggest issues in Vietnam and the Mekong Delta are air and […]

Mobile Technology Expansion in Rural Vietnam

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Since arriving in Ho Chi Minh, I have received constant warnings against flashing iPhones, laptops, and other mobile devices around in public. As a foreigner I stick out as a potential target for theft. Flashing my iPhone around would only draw more attention. These warnings led me to believe that such devices were a symbol […]

Cleanup Culture: Geographical Discrepancies in Vietnamese Trash Disposal Habits

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The streets of Saigon are filled with vendors and buyers, smokers and loungers, each  accumulating and depositing waste into the gutters and trash bins and sometimes even  directly  onto the sidewalk. However, despite this relentless barrage of consumption  and disposal, each  new morning I am greeted by a relatively waste-free landscape. I  have been pleasantly […]

The brick kilns

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This weekend while visiting the Mekong Delta, we had a chance to tour a large warehouse of brick kilns and a huge pottery workshop. After learning about the labor that goes into making these bricks, all of the expenses and how small the profits are, I became very interested in how it is possible for […]

Why Is Grandma Rice Smiling?

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During our brief visit to the Mekong Delta, our class visited a woman who makes rice paper. I would say it’s more like a lifestyle than a career; she has been doing this work for seventy years, since she was a fourteen year old girl. She was just about the most friendly looking old lady […]