The Sifu Mimi Chan Show
Oscar and I just returned from our transatlantic cruise to Italy and Spain. We love talking about our travels and today we are sharing stories about our recent adventure. Listen in for more on Italy, Spain, Azores Islands, life at sea and learn why we call Oscar the ‘taxi cab whisperer’. Warning: We do discuss a lot of amazing food, so do not listen to this episode hungry!
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Vinny Vurro is the owner of Felice Center for Pediatric Rehabilitation in Orlando, which offers speech, occupational, and physical therapy for children. Vinny believes in treating his patients like family and strives to help each patient reach his/her maximum potential in speech and language development.
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Ricky Watters is a running back who played for the San Francisco 49ers, Philadelphia Eagles, and Seattle Seahawks. As a football fan, I enjoyed learning more about Ricky’s journey to the NFL and the hard core training it took to play at an elite level. We also talk about life after the NFL and his current passion for helping others through motivational speaking. I met Ricky and his family when they joined Wah Lum many years ago, and although they have moved back to the West Coast, I am happy we have kept in touch. It was fun to learn about what really happens when you are on the field on ‘Any Given Sunday.’
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Rowena Norman is a Director of New Corporate Partnerships for Feeding America. She initiates authentic and meaningful partnerships with Fortune 500 companies. She loves utilizing her strong consultative fundraising, relationship management, and negotiation skills to forge innovative partnerships and make a difference every day. I enjoyed talking to Rowena about Feeding America, and the growing issue of hunger that faces so many in the US today. I was surprised to learn about how many people are hungry in the US today, and that many of the kids in school or people we interact with on a daily basis are food insecure. I love learning, and am grateful for the opportunity to constantly have my eyes opened through these interviews. Warning: Rowena’s passion and enthusiasm for her work is contagious, so be prepared to feel inspired to make a difference after listening to this podcast.
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Hi Everyone! It’s my 52nd episode of Culture Chat! I can’t believe it has been a year of podcasts. Today, I am answering listener questions and will be joined with my occasional co-host Oscar Agramonte. I am so grateful to all of you who have been tuning in each week THANK YOU so much. I have enjoyed learning from all of my guests, but have also learned a lot about myself. Although I still have a long way to go, I know that I am trying to become a much better listener. Thank you to all of my guests who graciously shared their stories with me, and thanks again to all of you for listening. Special gratitude love to those who have supported this podcast through Patreon and donations. Thanks to all of you, I hope to bring you more interesting podcasts in 2018. If anyone else is interested in donating please visit my website www.culturechatpodcast.com
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Today I had the pleasure of talking with Toan Lam. He is currently the host of the “Truth Dare” podcast, which is a series of intimate conversations with “bad asses” who have found their true calling, are using it to serve others and daring listeners to find their truth. He is also a motivational speaker, university instructor, and founder of the nonprofit, Go Inspire Go (GIG), a multimedia platform that highlights everyday heroes to inspire the hero in each of us. These stories have appeared on ABC’s “Good Morning America,” CNN, Disney and Hallmark Channels and Yahoo. Toan also shares his immigrant story and the challenges he faced in bringing to fruition his version of the American Dream. I am truly inspired by his accomplishments and admire the work he has done through his nonprofit Go Inspire Go and urge everyone to check it out. I am grateful I had the opportunity to chat with him, and know you will find his energy and positivity as contagious as I did.
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Hi Everyone! I can’t believe we are at the end of 2017. I had planned to discuss my holiday wish list and my wishes for all of you during this episode, but it ended up becoming a safety episode after my recent encounter with a burglar. I am fortunate to have survived this horrible incident, but by request was asked to share in more detail from what I explained in my BLOG. Oscar was gracious enough to conduct the interview. We will be taking a week off for the holidays and will resume on January 2 with a New Year resolution episode, so keep listening and sharing my podcast. My Christmas wish is for you to please become a true Patron of the show and support me on Patreon.
Read moreWhen you were in school did you learn in 1492 Columbus sailed the ocean blue? That’s what I recall from history class. Christopher Columbus has been widely celebrated and honored in the US, and even has his own holiday. However, many historical facts have emerged over the years, that have caused controversies with honoring Columbus. Today I chat with author Andy Rowen, author of the historical fiction, Encounters Unforeseen: 1492 Retold, which dramatizes the history of Columbus’s epic voyage and first encounters with Native Americans from a bicultural perspective.
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Is it fake news? No, it’s shallow reporting according to Fred Francis. Fred is a Two-time Emmy award winning broadcast journalist that has over 46 years of experience in the communications industry. He retired as a senior correspondent after 30 years at NBC News with a longstanding expertise in national and international security. We have an interesting conversation about the evolution of journalism and how we as consumers need to do our due diligence and seek out information. Fred sheds light on the ins and outs of the news world and why it has changed so drastically in the past 10 years. He also shares some of his fascinating stories of investigative reporting from Miami crime in the 1960’s to working at the Pentagon through the Gulf war. We couldn’t chat about news and not mention the current day issues of deciphering fact from false information and how this administration treats the media.
Read moreIn honor of Veterans Day, I sit down to talk to Private First-Class Timothy Johnson, a military cook and paratrooper who served in the Vietnam War. I recently returned from Normandy, where I visited the D-Day beaches and landing sight of paratroopers in WWII like, Major Dick Winters from Band of Brothers. The visit to the Normandy American cemetery left me awestruck. As I walked the grounds of the park, I truly felt proud to be an American. I have the deepest respect for those that selflessly serve this country in the military. It is a sacrifice, that I do not believe I am strong enough to make, and I am grateful for their service. I admittedly have not been as active in outreach for Veterans as I should be, and after speaking with Tim, realize this is another social issue that needs attention.
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In 1975, the mass evacuation of children from South Vietnam to the United States and other countries at the end of the Vietnam War was named Operation Babylift. Thousands of children were evacuated during that time, and today I speak with one of those evacuees, Dave Nguyen. Dave was adopted at the age of three by an American family and now has a family of his own. In 2010, Dave set out on a journey to discover his heritage and find his birth parents. He shares his compelling story of his return to Vietnam, visiting his birth place, and reuniting with his birth mother. Through this emotional journey, Dave discovers his own identity, and is now on a mission to find more answers about his past. I love learning from others, and in this chat, I enjoyed hearing Dave’s story of his adoption, reunions, and self-discovery and learning about Operation Babylift.
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