Essays

Higher Ed + Life: A Combustion Formula (for Personal Development)

It is way too early for this. And by “this,” I mean “Girl on Fire” blasting through conference speakers as multiple women flitter around scooping shiny confetti from little baskets and sprinkling them onto white tablecloths. While my daily coffee intake to prevent caffeine headaches does nothing to actually stimulate my brain, “this” certainly woke me up.

An Ode to Hennessy

What earthly business does cognac—a liquor that’s popular and made specifically in France—have being such a mainstay in Vietnamese culture?

Spring Cleaning

You do find some solace in the beautiful craftsmanship of the golden Buddhas. The long fingers, long earlobes, and the nose like a bird beak all ascend into the sharp point at the top of the hair mound.

Going Through the Motions

The proper way to sit is boht cheung, with your legs folded to one side. I think it’s supposed to be more graceful than sitting cross-legged. This forces me to sit with my best posture, while guaranteeing that a leg will fall asleep in due time.

The Structures of Trust

My dad recalled his first supernatural encounter during one of the trips down the dirt-roads-turned-trenches. Surrounded by melaleucas on both sides like the devils' crooked arms doming over in the dark, they were in search of drylands where grass and straw were left untouched by water for the cattle at home.

Fernweh, again

And perhaps I had seen all of it before, in one way or another, once upon a time in Vietnam.