Tớ Là Dâu - Những Bài Blog Hay Nhất Và Hơn Thế Nữa...

Joe’s upbringing in British Columbia, Canada, offered little exposure to Vietnam, a country he assumed well into high school was a tropical island.

After receiving his Bachelor of Arts from Acadia University in 2002, Joe left for Asia with, as per the requirements of his degree, no long-term plan. A rough summer in South Korea ended with a smooth flight to Hanoi, and soon after a full-time researc

Joe’s upbringing in British Columbia, Canada, offered little exposure to Vietnam, a country he assumed well into high school was a tropical island.

During his three years with Unicef, Joe studied Vietnamese at Hanoi’s respected University of Social Sciences and Humanities. In 2006, a friend encouraged him to start a blog in Vietnamese. This he tried, posting what he thought were humorous observations and cheeky anecdotes on ‘immigrant’ life in Vietnam. Later that year the Vietnamese blogosphere ballooned – for lack of a more restrained metaphor, blogs popped the buttons off prevailing media stuffiness – and Joe’s stretched with it, attracting close to 10 million hits in less than two years.

The blog became a syndicated column and then a best-selling paperback, the resulting attention drawing ill-judged film and television invites; Joe appeared in dramas, sitcoms, and gameshows, eventually co-hosting a nationally-broadcast teen-debate show for two years. While leaving the entertainment world behind, he is still recognised many places he goes (with glee or wild anger), often as Dâu, a Vietnamese play on his English name pronounced “zo” and meaning “Strawberry”.

Joe is unmarried and divides his search between Hanoi and Saigon.

Some bits and pieces in English:
Joe’s one attempt at stand-up comedy
Joe’s cheesy pop song for the 1000 year anniversary
Globe & Mail Article (Canada)

…more