Day 3: Purba Hill
Today was the day I was hoping for when coming to Yogyakarta! I woke up at 7:30AM and had breakfast and light conversation in the main room with a German, Indian, and a few Indonesians. Then at about 9:30AM, Ishal arrived at the hostel with a motorbike and we set out for our adventure. Ishal is staff at the hostel. He got out of his … Continue reading Day 3: Purba Hill
Day 2: Borobudur
Sleeping on Saturday night was hell ya uncomfortable because the air condition was breathing asthmatically and I an older Italian woman was snoring and farting. I ended up closing all the curtains around my bed and sleeping naked; which is something a person shouldn’t do in a semi-public place. Although I went to bed at 10PM, I think I only slept for an hour and … Continue reading Day 2: Borobudur
Day 1: Yogyakarta
My flight to Singapore suddenly landed in Kuala Lumpur. The landing wasn’t sudden, but my realization that I was in fact headed to in Kuala Lumpur didn’t dawn on me until I was already en route. I had been focused on organizing Trinh’s flights through Singapore that I hadn’t remembered that mine was through Malaysia. I felt like a flight attendant who knows what … Continue reading Day 1: Yogyakarta
The Role of Universities & Maker Spaces in Promoting Innovation in Vietnam
Presented at the 11th WTA General Assembly & Hi-tech Fair in Binh Duong, Vietnam October 12th 2018 Continue reading The Role of Universities & Maker Spaces in Promoting Innovation in Vietnam
The wide reach of friendship
On my birthday I was blessed to receive messages from people in all these places. In September, I made at least one phone call to a friend in each of these places. These are the places I still want to see. I guess that all of this still amazes me Continue reading The wide reach of friendship
The month before turning 29
These are thoughts and activities from August – September 2018 Our trip to Bangkok began with Trinh and I playing billiards in the Saigon Airport Bar. This is the only place where we ever play billiards, despite the fact that the ground floor of Trinh’s house is a billiards saloon. I guess that with the airport’s windows looking out on taxi-ing planes, fancy drinks served … Continue reading The month before turning 29
UNLEASH INNOVATION LAB 2018
What is UNLEASH? I’m going to be in Singapore for eight days for an Innovation Lab, UNLEASH, which unites and sponsors travel and accommodation for 1,000 young professionals from 106 countries and divides them into 8 large grouped-themes based on the UN Sustainable Development Goal (SDGs) that the Talents are working towards in their careers and studies. The participants of UNLEASH are modestly called “talents” and … Continue reading UNLEASH INNOVATION LAB 2018
Gordon’s Visit to Saigon
Friday, October 20th 2017 Friday was Vietnamese Women’s Day, which is kind of like Mothers’ Day & Valentine’s Day put together. After work, it was raining and I walked to a small mobile phone shop near my house and bought Trinh a used dark purple Fitbit HR as a gift for Women’s Day. Then I got a call from Gordon, my uncle, that he was … Continue reading Gordon’s Visit to Saigon
Impressions of Yangon
September 2017 The Shwedagon Pagoda dominants Yangon’s skyline and the city’s exotic and sleepy vibrations. Trinh and I could see the Pagoda in-full from the rooftop of the Lavender Hotel. The first time we rode our impatient elevator to the rooftop and rounded the corner to view the Pagoda was awe inspiring. Its perfect golden spire totally captures the imagination. The jungle trees growing between … Continue reading Impressions of Yangon
Lunar New Year 2018 in Penang & KL
This Lunar New Year, Trinh and I spent 5 days in Malaysia’s Penang (wiki) Island and Kuala Lumpur (KL) cities. It was Trinh’s first time in Malaysia and my second trip since visiting Lang Kawi Island and KL in 2013 before heading to India. (Quick blog on Lang Kawi Island, 2013) Living in Asia since 2012, I have normalized seeing surprising things, grown accustomed to being … Continue reading Lunar New Year 2018 in Penang & KL
Reflecting on Being 27
Looking back on the past year, when I was 27, it has been a step forward regarding career and relationships. I remember at my high school prom a Jesus-looking young gun raised a toast and said, “ A step not towards love is a step well wasted”. That was too profound for high schoolers – but lets trace my steps when I was 27. 27 … Continue reading Reflecting on Being 27
Hong Kong | August 2017
Being in Hong Kong the last five days have been a thought-provoking experience and an exercise in patience. I’m on a package tour with Trinh’s family. Of course, package tours are not my style, but it’s a chance to get to know the family and experience being on one of those “matching hat wearing follow-the-flag” tours. This is my second trip to Hong Kong. My … Continue reading Hong Kong | August 2017
Three Days in Dubai
On the global shift East, “Shanghai, Mumbai, Dubai for bye- bye” – Arvand Adiga Day 1 June 12th, 2017 “Where are the Arabs,” was the first question I asked myself as I looked at the white, tan, brown, and black skinned peoples on the Dubai metro. For all I could tell, I was in a diverse part of India. I could count on one hand the … Continue reading Three Days in Dubai
Friends in Bangkok
In 2009, I summed up the season in London by what I learned from the new and old friends that grew as I wandered through the UK and Europe; An Early Conclusion (2009). I’ll sum up the nine-month season in Bangkok in just the same way. Trinh’s willingness to fly to Bangkok at least once a month made our regional relationship simpler. We shared a new … Continue reading Friends in Bangkok
Tết in Việt Năm
Ten days across southern Vietnam Continue reading Tết in Việt Năm
Audio Blog: Nov. 1st 2016
Technical Proposal: All Children Reading
The attached PDF is a 26-page technical project proposal for the All Children Reading grant (2015). It includes a Background, Application, Viability, and an M&E Plan. The proposal was conducted as a technical writing exercise. The authors are masters students at the University of Pennslyvania; Matt Kelly, Murni Leo, Janice Kim, Megan Shug, and Deren Temel. Slides from Proposal Presentation Continue reading Technical Proposal: All Children Reading
Policy Brief: Expanding Vietnamese Private Higher Education
Abstract: This brief provides recommendations to assist Vietnam’s Ministry of Education and Training reach its goal of 40% private sector enrollment. This brief begins by explaining Vietnam’s rationale for expanding higher education enrollment. It explores the historical context of Vietnamese higher education policy, discusses the results of past reforms and notes how academic quality, financial stability, and low reputation hinders private sector enrollment. It concludes with … Continue reading Policy Brief: Expanding Vietnamese Private Higher Education
Video for an Curtin U. / UNESCO MOOC
At the very beginning of the internship period, I was called into a room with the deputy director of UNESCO Bangkok and my manager to discuss UNESCO’s submission to an Environmental Studies MOOC. A MOOC is a Massive Open Online Course, which is basically a course that one can take over the Internet. MOOCs herald themselves as the dawn of a new era in higher … Continue reading Video for an Curtin U. / UNESCO MOOC
A Chapter on Student Mobility in Asia-Pacific
During October, I was in the thick of the internship. I was working on the database, preparing documents and presentations for my manager, proof-reading submitted case studies for a UNESCO publication, and writing UNESCO’s chapter submission to a book about Higher Education Internationalization in Malaysia. Initially, my manager turned down his friend’s offer to submit a UNESCO perspective chapter to an upcoming book about higher education … Continue reading A Chapter on Student Mobility in Asia-Pacific
Infographic from Project Implementation Data
After having constructed the database, I had to extract a “learning” from the data. The learning that I did extract was a loose sense of the region’s need for more information sharing about the diversity of assessment procedures, assessment criteria, and student’s rights throughout Asia-Pacific. With this in mind, I was assigned to design and construct a summary dashboard of this “learning” to convey to … Continue reading Infographic from Project Implementation Data
Implementation Monitoring Database
UNESCO Bangkok’s main strategy in higher education in Asia-Pacific is aligning the region’s qualifications assessment procedures around ideals of sharing, fairness, and transparency. UNESCO supports regional assessment alignment in the hopes that alignment will help mobile students successfully have their home-country higher education degrees/qualifications recognized when they move to another Asia-Pacific country. The main crux of this strategy is the 1983 Convention, and the revised … Continue reading Implementation Monitoring Database
Traveling around Sri Lanka
A journal of thoughts and experiences while circumventing southern Sri Lank Continue reading Traveling around Sri Lanka
Public Speaking for UNESCO
Over the course of the internship, I’ve been the emcee for two regional meetings and a panelist during the 16th APEID Conference. As the emcee, I facilitated two meetings both populated by regional stakeholders in education research. As a panelist, I discussed students’ impressions of quality education to an audience of 200 regional stakeholders. These public speaking opportunities were a highlight of the internship. Continue reading Public Speaking for UNESCO
Audio Blog: Oct 1st 2016
Topics: internship projects, office multi-culturalism, connection to Thailand. Continue reading Audio Blog: Oct 1st 2016
