A. Cathy Nguyen

it's also very much open door policy - theoretically I could walk into anyone's house at any time and talk to someone

view onto family courtyard, the shared space of a family compound. it's both a social and functional space - to hang up laundry, bicycle and moped parking, storage. or for pets to hang out

view onto the courtyard from the other side. there is around five houses connecting to the courtyard

while I don't remember much from my last time here as a three-year old, I certainly remember our family courtyard - the shared space of the family compound. it used to be very barren but now it connects to five houses for each family unit, which makes living here very communal

my family's home has two cats roaming around, pineapple (orange) and cherry tomato (standard issue). they are both very shy

my aunt's cafe

view onto dong nai river with ghenh bridge in the back

my room!

sunset over dong nai river

i've been AWOL but for good reason, returning to my parents' motherland for the first time in 28 years. my mum's side is from bien hoa, located in the dong nai province just outside of ho chi minh city. my auntie runs a cafe at her house and it is also where I'm staying 😌

rejection for a job application from like 4 months ago, i guess because it's been so long i had already assumed as much but at least i got an official confirmation today. even as a pdf! 😭

Dingoes on Australia’s K’gari island to be euthanised after tragic death of Canadian tourist Piper James Queensland government says pack linked to 19-year-old’s death pose ‘unacceptable public safety risk’ as Indigenous traditional owners say they were not consulted

after killing sharks for no reason, dingos are being "euthanized". begging "Australia" to not kill their own wildlife when it's really humans who are invading their spaces: impossible. not consulting first nations people is just another nail in the coffin
www.theguardian.com/australia-ne...

I really want to go to VN with an open mind because it's my first time in 27 years. while I want to respect my mum's advice when she goes on tirades on how terrible it is and that I'm naive, it of course affects me to a certain extent. doing my best to stay excited and positive about it tho!

i mean i get it, blabla she is worried. she saw what japan was like and probably believes i assume asia is like that everywhere. she also just straight up told me bc i dont speak vietnamese i likely wont understand it at all if someone is trying to scam me. well thanks mum 😢

yesterday's phone call with my mum was yet again very draining, I've learned not to speak back or disagree; lots of warnings about people out there to scam me, how dirty they are, that there's garbage everywhere (she's seen it on TV!), to not trust people. mostly well-meant travel "advice"

vietnam is always a sensitive topic to talk about with my parents, they haven't set foot in the country in over 27 years - so a lot of what they say is stuck in the past and laden with negativity about the people/government/culture. they seem to loathe it while missing what it could never be

Pagoda ​This Pagoda was built in August 1970 as the cenotaph account of the proposition of Joei Matsukura, the 58th chief priest of Ryoanji Temple, who fought at the field automobile operations in the Burma Campaign of World War II. The Pagoda was built in memory of comrades who died in combat, thanks to fund raising from repatriated comrades in arms.

went to visit Ryoanji Temple in Kyoto today, the grounds feature a small pagoda off to the side of the main hall and well when I was reading who it was built for I sure wasn't expecting... well that

honestly i think a bit of both; lots of kids not as online as we might think or in different (not so gay) algo bubbles, and i haven't really been able to bring up HR to people unless they were women/queer

coffee talk, journey, death stranding, rdr2 ... mmhmh! I am already very excited to read the full thing!😃

multipens are still hot in japan. and they are awesome!

multipen slander! NOT ON MY FEED

"just do me a favour and do not pose with the red vietnamese flag for photos" - mum's attempt at preventing me from becoming a commie sympathizer

pretty sure it's already starting with the amount of content I'm getting about getting custom made tailored clothes in Hoi An

can't wait for tiktokers to discover their very vietnamese time in their lives (please do not)

I think maybe I just liked traveling before because I needed to get away from Germany 🤔🤔

as someone who lives abroad there seems to be an assumption that I must really like traveling but also I just really like being at home and my bed and I'm getting really nervous visiting Hong Kong and Vietnam for like three weeks in February

And it's out!

Widely available in the US.
Ask your favourite bookshop if outside of the US.
Digital version open access (any minute).

Hope you all enjoy it!

gibt für seine schwachsinnigen aussagen so konkrete gegenbeispiele. aus der luft zieht der sich diese argumente loll

ist immer witzig aussagen von merz aus japan zu verfolgen wenn hier mehr als sonst wo gearbeitet wird aber produktivität relativ niedrig ist, man hier keine gesetzlichen krankentage hat und leute idR krank auf der arbeit erscheinen 😜

for a long time I thought calling anime pilgrimages in a religious sense was an exaggeration for basically "media tourism" but for these locations it really did feel a bit religious, with flowers left at certain spots and the overall tranquil ambience even when running into others who did the same

a flower shop with a sign featuring characters of the movie and the flowers you can buy

the cafe that serves as an inspiration for a similar cafe in the movie

staircases featured in the movie

fans leaving flowers inside a phone booth

some more photos of relevant locations and the flower shop next to the cafe that serves as an inspiration for a location, selling the appropriate flowers to leave at the phone booth

top: Screenshot from movie, bottom: recreation of frame at the actual location

top: Screenshot from movie, bottom: recreation of frame at the actual location

went on a little anime pilgrimage the other week (title: Chainsaw Man The Movie: Reze Arc)

been hearing so many stories including from middle school teachers and how the kids are coming up with creative ways to bring up 6 7 in any situation possible and I find it hilarious

loving 6 7 brainrot a bit too much

makes japan look like a real walk in the park lmao 🥲🥲

just based off of what I'm hearing and have experienced myself now, basically no jobs in higher ed in aus are willing to sponsor a visa. my supervisor tried to go to melbourne for a sabbatical and his application for a temporary visa has been stuck for a year, so he gave up on that