Featured Blogs & Columns
Vietnam is full of schools claiming to be ‘international’. Just because a school is working in English or because it has the words ‘British’, ’American’, ‘Australian’ or even ‘International’ in its name does not mean it is truly international. So, what is it that truly makes a school ‘international’? And how can parents tell which schools will be the best for the development and education of their children?
Alcoholism
Written by The Word
Alcoholism is a chronic and often progressive disease that includes problems controlling your drinking, being preoccupied with alcohol, continuing to use alcohol even when it causes problems, having to drink more to get the same effect (physical dependence), or having withdrawal symptoms when you rapidly decrease or stop drinking.
A Reading List for Changemakers
Written by Dana McNairn
What you need to know before you buy that family a goat
Getting Help
Written by Douglas Holwerda
Douglas Holwerda, American trained and licensed mental health counsellor, answers your questions and offers advice
Coconut Oil
Written by Kathryn Cardenas
You often see aisle upon aisle of beauty products made up of indecipherable, “scientifically-proven to be effective” lists of ingredients with high price tags. It’s at once intimidating and convincing, and a complete turn-off for a self-proclaimed beauty junkie and health nut on a budget like myself. When you add that with the proliferation of questionable, cheap — and often imitation — products that exist without regulation, it only makes sense to make your own products at home. Like my food, I like things to be healthy and safe for the environment, as well as effective.
Countries of the Mind
Written by Truong
This month, Bookworm’s Truong explores the fictional places that books have made real
The Whole Picture
Written by Karen Gay
Back in January of this year I wrote an article about the multi-dimensional aspect of human beings. The premise of the article was that we are more than just our physical bodies, and in fact we have multiple energetic bodies or layers that represent multiple aspects of ourselves.
Volunteer Stop-portunities
Written by The Word
Margaret Smith feels the urge to help, but where? Photos by Kyle Phanroy
Bad Science: the Industry of Food
Written by Phil Kelly
How come there is so much controversy on the subject of nutrition? A labyrinth of conflicting advice has been constructed around the topic with disagreement on many topics from animal based diets vs. plant based, low fat vs. high fat, low carb vs. high carb, unsaturated fat vs. saturated fat, organic vs. conventional, and so on.
Back to School — Dateline Seoul, Korea
Written by
It has already been seven weeks since summer break started, and now I’m left with just seven more days of this holiday. I have entered the ‘panic stage’ of the holiday as I — along with all the other teenagers in the world — have finally noticed the large pile of summer reading and projects that I had hidden in the corner of my memory. While lamenting the misfortune of the ‘return of school’, somewhere very deep in my heart a small speck of relief and comfort sparkles.
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Summer Internship
Written by
Summer, just a few years ago, was a time of beaches, islands, palm trees — or, when not taking on any outdoor activities, eating in bed and generally being lazy. It was the time of ‘fun’, a whole two months of the fun and freedom that we yearned for all year. But our lives changed as we passed through middle school, through ninth and tenth grades, and so has our summer. Its ‘fun’ has now dressed itself in a work uniform.
Earning a Living in Vietnam
Written by The Word
Despite the decreasing number of ‘expat packages’ and a lower wage differential than in the past, foreigners in Vietnam still earn a higher salary than locals. How is this justified? Words by Siobhan Smith. Illustration by Øyvind Sleivdal
The Right Type of Cardio
Written by Phil Kelly
When most people decide to get into shape and become fitter they generally turn to heart healthy ‘cardio’ exercise — running, swimming, cycling and more. In recent times the new craze in the fitness industry has been the insurgence of High Intensity Interval Training (HIIT).
For years the fitness world has prescribed Steady State Cardio (SSC) as the preferred method for burning fat, losing weight and getting into shape. But now it all seems to be about HIIT. I constantly get asked what is the best form of exercise for burning fat and losing weight? Is it HIIT or SSC? This can be a complicated question to answer, as really it is about application. To help understand cardio training more, you need to know about fuel systems.
Social Media Blunders
Written by Nicola Connolly
Social Media is a powerful tool… for good and for evil. As quickly as it can boost your presence, it can also tear it down. What you post on your social media profile can put you out of the running for a job you want, or even cost you one that you already have. Simply put, most recruiters and headhunters will check your Social Media profile. 78 percent of recruiters will type your name into a search engine to see what comes up, and 63 percent will look into your social media sites as well.
