The Gang’s All Back Together

I can’t believe that the first week is already almost over. I’ve fallen into a good routine of running next to the harbor in the morning. It’s really interesting to see everyone hustling around in the morning. There are a bunch of people fishing off the boardwalk, people sorting through nets of seafood one the ground, and many small tubs of the sorted versions. There were lots of crabs, clams, mussels, and lots of other shellfish.

This morning I also found a Chinese guy to run with. I passed him right when he was turning around, and then a minute later he caught up. I sped up, he sped up, I slowed down he slowed down. We didn’t say a word to one another, but it was good to have the silent company.

When we got to the office, we got to see what their morning meeting is. From what we saw, they were predominately sharing inspirational stories. One person was presenting and everyone else was just listening.

Then the three of us spent a lot of time going through what we were really going to do the next three weeks in a bit more detail. Matthias had prepared a very detailed presentation of findings, but we had a bit of discussion about when the right time was to discuss. In the end, we decided that it would be best to wait a bit longer. We also reviewed and finalized the Statement of Work.

We ordered in lunch again today which again was excellent. For about $4, we each got a large bowl of rice, pork, potatoes, and a yellow curry. And that bought lunch for Zoey and Katherine.

In the afternoon, we got to sit in on their project planning meeting. We found out many interesting details about how their clients work, and what they would like to do strategically from the platform. It was great to see the passion Carosa had for where she wanted to do and how she envisioned that they could address some of the issues.

That meeting was very intense, so we didn’t end up leaving until closer to 6pm which which turned out to bad thing. It took almost an hour and 45 minutes to get back to the hotel.

All 12 of us got together for the first time since Tuesday and went out for hot pot. This was a nice restaurant right next to the harbor and the sailing club. When we walked in, we were given hot towels, and linen aprons to protect our clothes. There was one really nice waiter who helped me order for the whole table. It was also really convenient that the order was placed with an iPad so I could see what I was ordering and how much everything costs. I ordered a ton of veggies, cabbage, mushrooms, beef, and pork. I picked one spicy broth and one with mushrooms. The spicy one turned out to be super spicy. Matthias got a little bit stuck in his throat and was really struggling to breath, but fortunately that passed.

After a little bit of time, our waiter friend came back and said that we didn’t order any seafood. Payel in particular wanted some prawns, so told him that we would like to order some. He insisted on taking me to the live tank so I could see how fresh they were. There was no doubt at all since they were alive when they went into the hot pot. Everything was delicious! We also ordered some noodles that they pulled directly at the table as part of a show. Going into the place, I was guessing that it was going to be pretty pricey. However, it turned out that it was under $10 a person.. Including beer! It’s unbelievable how cheap a really nice meal was.

We then decided to walk to the bar that our PA’s friend had recommended. It was about a 25 minute walk, but it was a nice evening so 10 of us took off. When we finally found the place she recommended and went inside, we turned straight around. It was a bunch of really young looking kids sucking balloons of what we think was CO2. Definitely not a place we wanted to hang around.

So we walked back to the bar we passed on the way only to find that there weren’t any seats.. But that didn’t matter, they traded tables with one of the customers there and gave it to us. Then came the stools.. And then Payel convinced nearly everyone that it would be good idea to do a round of Tequilla shots. A beer later, we decided to go to the next place and stumbled upon a little gem called Club New York.

We walked in there to find a 6 person live band playing. At first a few folks were going to walk back, but in the end, everyone stayed until the band stopped playing a bit later. Being out with a big group in a lively place was a lot of fun! Everyone was dancing and we even made a few local friends. Jose in particular seemed to get along with a Chinese guy. 🙂