Today I was so over the moon as I finally finished my history class’s 400-word book analytical essay. However, I was a little stressed, so I visited the writing center to get help. My spontaneous decision means that I had to compromise for walk-in and I couldn’t pick a writing tutor. I had quite a low expectation. But turned out, I was so wrong – the person who helped me was smart, thoughtful, and careful; he made me feel super satisfied with my final product. One thing he was the best at was thinking out loud and explaining to me his thought process, which I found extremely secure because I knew exactly what and why he was doing that. Sometimes, he still paused to ask if I was fine with making the changes. I remember one time I wasn’t OK with removing this one point because that would make my paragraphs become disproportional from each other. He was apologetic about it but then quickly adapted to my comment and worked with me to integrate that idea back in.
Later today, I also attended a tutor training, called Tutoring Across Culture. It was one of the most engaging and fun sessions of training I have ever had. The instructor, JS, talked about the differences between Western and Eastern cultures and allowed us to share our personal stories with each other. I recounted the time that I first ordered Chipotle, which I can share later. But for the sake of memory, I want to record JS’s encounter with an exchange Student from South Korea. The Student approached her to practice his Speaking skill, which was essential to get a high score for an exam that he would have when he came back. At first, he was reluctant to have JS as a teacher, as she was young and was a woman – he actually asked if he could get an older, male teacher instead. Of course, she was taken aback, but still kept her cool and let him know that she truly didn’t have anyone who could qualify with his criteria. So the student said OK and he came back to practice with her 3 times every week for the entire semester. They learned about each other’s culture with complete respect and to this point, JS still remembers him being one of her favorite interactions in her tutoring career. In the end, the student wrote her a postcard, which she kept for many years and passed around for everyone in the room to read today.
Trang "Tee" Nguyen 
Hi Trang ๐
Wow — what an excellent description of the feeling you had! (I guess)
I usually like to visit the way a blog started (but I don’t understand your very first blog post ๐ ).
Nonetheless: this one tells me the necessary facts. You seem to have left Hanoi (it actually took me a moment to notice that this supermarket you describe is *in Hanoi*).
I wonder why you now preface your blog titles with the date — perhaps because you think you may change the permalinks at some time?
Your about page is super impressive and at the same time inviting — you are good at taking the reader’s perspective, which definitely is a sign of empathy (i.e., a GOOD thing ๐ ).
I have a site called “Mekong (dot Biz)” — yet I know very little about the region! ๐ฏ Would you like to help “clue me in?
๐ Norbert
ps: I tried posting this as a comment on your first post in English, but when I submitted it it, the message “Connecting to %s” showed up + didn’t do away ๐
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Hey Nobert,
Thanks for stopping by my blog. You are the first one ever to leave a comment on my site! Yes, I am 100% Hanoian. I write every day for fun and to improve my writing skill; I also begin with the date, so I can easily search back and see my progression.
I couldn’t visit your site mekong.biz for some reason – hope to hear back from you on that and maybe supply some of my knowledge too!
Best,
Tee
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Hey Tee ๐
AFAIK, the provisory site should show a more-or-less blank page with stuff like “The website mekong.biz may be available for web development ideas.”
I realize that the river it doesn’t flow through Hanoi, but I am thinking of it more as a big region… (?) or maybe something like “of big significance” (?) I would appreciate any help you can give me a lot!
I realize that very few people actually read blogs. One of my colleagues actually alerted me to this several years ago. It seems odd that every one seems to be writing so much, but reading so little.
Well, maybe we can look forward to more balance in our reading + writing?
๐ Norbert
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Hey Norbert,
You’re right that the Mekong river doesn’t flow through Hanoi at all; still, it still plays a significant role in our agriculture. Since I know you’re interested in rivers, I will let you know a fun fact: the name Hร Nแปi means surrounded by waterways and we have 9 rivers flowing through.
Also, interesting that you pointed out that fact. I myself don’t read either, I like to listen to music and podcasts more. Maybe I will consider reading more in the future?
Out of curiosity, what country are you based in now? ๐
Best,
Tee
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One of my favorite bands (from ages ago) is / was called XTC. They (and / or the band leader) created a song called “Senses working overtime” … which sort of captures the way we humans use their senses via a bunch of different media channels — it’s very deep actually. Much of the music from this era is actually “concept albums” … so the meaning of the individual pieces is also very tied up into the meaning of the entire album (which the piece appeared in). Two other favorites from XTC are “Dear God” and “On Grass” (all three of these have neato videos, but the latter two are much more of the “storytelling” kind). I happen to know that Andy Partridge (the leader) has a quite serious health condition, and I think this also heavily influenced his art, writing, etc.
I am “based” online — that sounds like a cop-out, but IMHO it really is a very good description of who I am. But maybe you really do care about where my flesh and bones usually wander around “IRL” … that would be (ATM) in Germany, with quite frequent visits to the USA (primarily NYC metro area). I would love to discover something completely different, but I also see very little reason to pack a suitcase and lug it around on some trip to discover … whatever I might discover. (LOL)
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*our senses ๐
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