Homeward Bound... for a few days

On my way back from Brazil, I stopped in the Bay Area for a few days to do some work and catch up with some more friends. Eli and I went to the Exploratorium and got tickets to the Tactile dome... which wasn't all that it was cracked up to be. Still fun nonetheless, just that it looked (and smelled) like it was made in the 70's!

Included below is a picture of a (huge!) Kinder Egg from Brazil. (Blackberry included for scale) For Easter in Brazil, and I recall from last year's trip to Argentina as well, they have large chocolate eggs of various brands, sometimes hanging from up above in grocery stores like bats!
Also below, Eli playing with the Exploratorium exhibit, and the tulips are blooming which we see them from the kitchen window.

Brazil Bash

Okay, so I am here doing research for work, but I've had a little bit of time to have some fun. We were around Sao Paulo for a bit (in a city called Campinas) doing in home interviews and other design research, but unfortunately didn't get to do much in city. After a few days we flew to Recife up in the north, and just happened to stumble upon the 472 anniversary party of that city. The Carnaval decorations were still up as well! There was dancing, eating, music... the cake is shown below, people lined up for hours to get a bite! It was one of the best cakes I've eaten, plus I was starving. Our hotel is right next to the beach too. Here are a few fun shots and video. I love the high tech/low tech coconut water cooler!

Flying through SF to Brazil

Sorry to have taken a blog break, a project I’m leading came together at the last minute and bam, gotta get tickets to Brazil for research! I flew through San Francisco first for a few days to be with Eli and had to pick up my passport as well. You might be asking, but don’t you need that to have that while traveling from China to San Francisco??

So I have TWO American passports that are valid at the same time. Yes. Weird. So, there is a strange loophole in the passport system which allows you to have more than one passport for visa reasons. Let’s say I needed to fly to Brazil and then to India, and Brazil takes 10 days, and India takes 5 days, and I just found out yesterday about this trip… well you get the point. It was amazing to see Eli and got to catch up with Alice and Dave too!

IDEO Annual Party

So our annual party was a little late this year (last Friday) and the whole office went out for dinner and KTV. We also got to do "secret santa" and everyone could choose a gift around 50USD. After writing what you wanted on a card, we drew cards. I wanted cooking lessons, and the card I drew wanted a folding bike! for $50? I went on a quest and actually found a new one for $45. Okay, so it was a bit heavy and had misspelled words, but I rode it home and it was great! (you can see it in the photo- it was Henry's) Only in China.

So in the photo below you can see everyone in the IDEO Shanghai office. Tom Kelly also made it by too; it was so nice to have him in the office as he told some great stories about how IDEO started. There are a few significant others sprinkled in there, but in all we have about 29 people I think? We are hiring a few more, so I'll have to photoshop them in later.

Chengdu and Pandas!

This weekend I went with friends Evan, Thomas, Grace, and Wilson to Chengdu! I initiated the trip because I have a big soft spot for Pandas. I had heard that you could hug one, and I was sold. We left at 8:30 am and got in around noon. Chengdu is in the Sichuan province-they are known for their spicy food! We stayed at the Haiyatt (yes- that is spelled correctly :) and in the afternoon we visited a famous poet, Dufu's, residence. We also went to a crafty street, Jingli, and it was so inspiring! There was everything from blown candy to calligraphy and ancient arrow shooting. After grabbing a quick bite at the local stands we made it to a variety show of sorts whose main attraction was the "bian lian" (changing masks) show. During the show, they dance and perform, and all of a sudden, their faces switch masks, without any hands. Very fun, and I'm still thinking about how they do it and resisting to look it up on Wikipedia.

The next day we hired a driver who drove us to the Chengdu Panda Research Center. They help breed and raise pandas. So hugging a panda for all of 2 minutes was over $100 but hey, you only live once. It was sooo cute. It isn't too heavy, and surprisingly the fur is not as fluffy as you might think. It's kind of oily. They had us wear these blue suits and gloves to protect the cub, and our clothes! To keep the little guy occupied, we gave him a small bamboo stick with honey on it. He was a little squirmy but so adorable. After that we walked around and saw pandas of various ages. In the nursury you could see all the cubs playing with each other. I might see if I can volunteer there! Afterwards, we drove to lunch and then went to a local teahouse- its a local tradition and people play mahjang and poker. I learned to play mahjang for the first time. I highly recommend Chengdu!