ABOUT THE SPEAKER
Tania Luna - Surprisologist
Tania Luna co-founded Surprise Industries, a company devoted to designing surprise experiences.

Why you should listen

Tania Luna has an unusual title: she calls herself a “surprisologist.” The co-founder and CEO of Surprise Industries, Luna thinks deeply about how to delight, and how to help individuals and teams thrive in uncertain circumstances and develop the bonds needed to get through them.

When Luna was invited to take part in TED’s Worldwide Talent Search in 2012, she expected to give a talk about surprise and the importance of not being attached to outcomes. However, she was inspired to tell a more personal story -- one many of her closest friends didn’t know -- about her Ukrainian family getting asylum in the United States when she was 6-yeard-old and arriving in New York with virtually nothing. She sees her work as connected to her upbringing -- in which a piece of Bazooka bubble gum, a thrown-out toy or a mis-delivered pizza was magical -- because it gave her an appreciation for the joy of little surprises. 

More profile about the speaker
Tania Luna | Speaker | TED.com
TED@New York

Tania Luna: How a penny made me feel like a millionaire

塔妮亞.露娜 (Tania Luna): 一分錢如何讓我自覺像富翁

Filmed:
1,797,188 views

塔妮亞.露娜 (Tania Luna) 年幼時在車諾比核災後離鄉赴美,有天在她家居留的紐約遊民收容所地上撿到了一分錢,她感到無可比擬的富足。一段回味童年悲喜交織的省思,並由此建立心中的信念。
- Surprisologist
Tania Luna co-founded Surprise Industries, a company devoted to designing surprise experiences. Full bio

Double-click the English transcript below to play the video.

00:12
I'm five years年份 old, and I am very proud驕傲.
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我五歲的時候,我很自豪
00:16
My father父親 has just built內置 the best最好 outhouse外屋
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父親在我們的烏克蘭小村莊裡
00:20
in our little village in Ukraine烏克蘭.
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蓋了一間最棒的屋子
00:22
Inside, it's a smelly, gaping張開 hole in the ground地面,
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屋子裡是有點怪味,地板上還有縫隙和破洞
00:26
but outside, it's pearly珍珠的 white白色 formica福米卡
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但是從外面看來,這房子是珍珠白的塑膠材質
00:30
and it literally按照字面 gleamsGLEAMS in the sun太陽.
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在陽光下會閃閃發亮
00:34
This makes品牌 me feel so proud驕傲, so important重要,
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這讓我自覺驕傲且重要
00:37
that I appoint myself the leader領導 of my little group of friends朋友
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所以我自任為小小朋友圈裡的領導者
00:40
and I devise設計 missions任務 for us.
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並分配任務給大家
00:43
So we prowl潛行 from house to house
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我們徘徊在家家戶戶之間
00:45
looking for flies蒼蠅 captured捕獲 in spider蜘蛛 webs
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找尋被蜘蛛網困住的蒼蠅
00:49
and we set them free自由.
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然後放牠們自由
00:51
Four years年份 earlier, when I was one,
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在那四年前,我一歲的時候
00:53
after the Chernobyl切爾諾貝利 accident事故,
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發生車諾比(Chernobyl) 核電廠災變
00:55
the rain came來了 down black黑色,
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天空下著黑雨
00:57
and my sister's姐妹 hair頭髮 fell下跌 out in clumps團塊,
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我姊姊的頭髮成把的掉落
00:59
and I spent花費 nine months個月 in the hospital醫院.
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而我在醫院裡待了九個月
01:02
There were no visitors遊客 allowed允許,
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因為不准有任何訪客探視
01:03
so my mother母親 bribed賄賂 a hospital醫院 worker工人.
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我母親只好買通一個醫院員工
01:07
She acquired後天 a nurse's護士 uniform制服,
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她拿到一件護士服
01:10
and she snuck偷傳 in every一切 night to sit by my side.
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每天晚上都溜進醫院坐在我身旁
01:15
Five years年份 later後來, an unexpected意外 silver lining.
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五年後,出現了意外的轉機
01:18
Thanks謝謝 to Chernobyl切爾諾貝利, we get asylum避難所 in the U.S.
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感謝車諾比,讓我們得以前往美國的庇護所
01:22
I am six years年份 old, and I don't cry when we leave離開 home
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我那時六歲,離開家鄉前來美國時
01:26
and we come to America美國,
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我沒有哭泣
01:27
because I expect期望 it to be a place地點 filled填充 with rare罕見
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因為我滿心期待要前往一個充滿美好事物的國度
01:31
and wonderful精彩 things like bananas香蕉 and chocolate巧克力
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到處都是珍稀的香蕉、巧克力
01:35
and Bazooka火箭筒 bubble泡沫 gum,
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還有巴滋卡口香糖 (Bazooka)
01:37
Bazooka火箭筒 bubble泡沫 gum with the little cartoon動畫片 wrappers包裝 inside,
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這種口香糖有小卡通圖案包裝
01:41
Bazooka火箭筒 that we'd星期三 get once一旦 a year in Ukraine烏克蘭
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我們在烏克蘭一年只能吃到一次
01:45
and we'd星期三 have to chew one piece for an entire整個 week.
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所以一片口香糖就嚼一整個星期
01:49
So the first day we get to New York紐約,
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我們第一天到紐約時
01:50
my grandmother祖母 and I find a penny一分錢
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我和奶奶在我們住的
01:53
in the floor地板 of the homeless無家可歸 shelter庇護 that my family's家庭的 staying in.
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遊民收容所地板上撿到了一分錢
01:56
Only, we don't know that it's a homeless無家可歸 shelter庇護.
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不過我們當時並不知道那是遊民收容所
01:58
We think that it's a hotel旅館, a hotel旅館 with lots of rats大鼠.
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我們一直以為那是間旅館,有很多老鼠的旅館
02:01
So we find this penny一分錢 kind of fossilized化石 in the floor地板,
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所以當我們發現那一分錢像個化石一樣躺在地上時
02:06
and we think that a very wealthy富裕 man must必須 have left it there
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我們都認為一定是個很有錢的人掉的
02:09
because regular定期 people don't just lose失去 money.
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因為一般人才不會掉錢呢!
02:11
And I hold保持 this penny一分錢 in the palm棕櫚 of my hand,
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雖然這一分錢有點黏又鏽了
02:14
and it's sticky and rusty生疏,
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但我緊握在手心
02:16
but it feels感覺 like I'm holding保持 a fortune幸運.
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就像抓住了一大筆財富
02:19
I decide決定 that I'm going to get my very own擁有 piece
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我決定要拿這一分錢去買一片
02:21
of Bazooka火箭筒 bubble泡沫 gum.
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屬於我自己的巴滋卡口香糖
02:23
And in that moment時刻, I feel like a millionaire百萬富翁.
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在那瞬間,我覺得自己就像個百萬富翁
02:27
About a year later後來, I get to feel that way again
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一年後,我們在垃圾堆裡找到一大袋填充娃娃時
02:29
when we find a bag full充分 of stuffed填充的 animals動物 in the trash垃圾,
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我又有同樣的感覺了
02:32
and suddenly突然 I have more toys玩具
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我突然間擁有這麼多玩具
02:34
than I've ever had in my whole整個 life.
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比這輩子有過的加起來都還要多了
02:37
And again, I get that feeling感覺 when we get a knock
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還有一次,在我們布魯克林的公寓裡
02:39
on the door of our apartment公寓 in Brooklyn布魯克林,
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我和姐姐聽到敲門聲
02:41
and my sister妹妹 and I find a deliveryman郵遞員
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有個送披薩的人站在門口
02:44
with a box of pizza比薩 that we didn't order訂購.
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但披薩不是我們訂的
02:46
So we take the pizza比薩, our very first pizza比薩,
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我們收下了披薩,這輩子的第一個披薩
02:49
and we devour吞食 slice after slice
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外送員站在門口盯著我們看
02:52
as the deliveryman郵遞員 stands站立 there and stares凝視 at us from the doorway門口.
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而我們就在他面前一片接一片不停的吃
02:56
And he tells告訴 us to pay工資, but we don't speak說話 English英語.
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他叫我們付錢,但我們當時還不懂英文
02:59
My mother母親 comes out, and he asks her for money,
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我母親從屋子裡走出來,外送員就叫她付錢
03:01
but she doesn't have enough足夠.
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但是她的錢不夠
03:02
She walks散步 50 blocks to and from work every一切 day
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她天天走過五十個街區去工作
03:06
just to avoid避免 spending開支 money on bus總線 fare票價.
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只為了省下巴士錢
03:08
Then our neighbor鄰居 pops持久性有機污染物 her head in,
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然後鄰居突然探頭進來
03:10
and she turns red with rage憤怒 when she realizes實現
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當她發現她訂的披薩
03:13
that those immigrants移民 from downstairs樓下
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被樓下這些移民染指了
03:15
have somehow不知何故 gotten得到 their hands on her pizza比薩.
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她氣到滿臉通紅
03:19
Everyone's每個人的 upset煩亂.
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大家都不高興了啊!
03:21
But the pizza比薩 is delicious美味的.
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不過那披薩倒真是好吃呢!
03:25
It doesn't hit擊中 me until直到 years年份 later後來 just how little we had.
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直到多年後我才明白當時我們有多窮困
03:31
On our 10 year anniversary週年 of being存在 in the U.S.,
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在我們定居美國十年後
03:33
we decided決定 to celebrate慶祝 by reserving預訂 a room房間
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我們決定去一開始收留我們的旅館
03:35
at the hotel旅館 that we first stayed in when we got to the U.S.
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訂個房間一起慶祝十周年
03:38
The man at the front面前 desk laughs, and he says,
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但櫃台人員大笑著跟我們說:
03:40
"You can't reserve保留 a room房間 here. This is a homeless無家可歸 shelter庇護."
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「這邊的房間不能預約,這裡可是遊民收容所啊!」
03:43
And we were shocked吃驚.
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我們全都嚇呆了
03:45
My husband丈夫 Brian布賴恩 was also homeless無家可歸 as a kid孩子.
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我老公布萊恩,他小時候也無家可歸
03:49
His family家庭 lost丟失 everything, and at age年齡 11,
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他家失去了一切,11 歲的時候
03:52
he had to live生活 in motels汽車旅館 with his dad,
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他得和父親一起住在汽車旅館裡
03:55
motels汽車旅館 that would round回合 up all of their food餐飲
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汽車旅館會把他們的食物都拿走做為抵押品
03:58
and keep it hostage人質 until直到 they were able能夠 to pay工資 the bill法案.
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直到他們能繳清欠款為止
04:02
And one time, when he finally最後 got his box
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有次當他終於拿回他的家樂氏穀片時
04:04
of Frosted磨砂 Flakes back, it was crawling爬行 with roaches蟑螂.
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上面已經爬滿蟑螂了
04:08
But he did have one thing.
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但他確實擁有一個東西
04:10
He had this shoebox鞋盒 that he carried攜帶的 with him everywhere到處
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他到哪裡都帶著一個鞋盒
04:12
containing nine comic滑稽 books圖書,
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裡面裝著九本漫畫書
04:15
two G.I. Joes喬斯 painted to look like Spider-Man蜘蛛俠
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兩個特種部隊 (G.I.Joe) 公仔塗裝得像蜘蛛人
04:18
and five GobotsGobots. And this was his treasure寶藏.
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還有五個機器戰神 (Gobots) 公仔,這是他的寶貝
04:21
This was his own擁有 assembly部件 of heroes英雄
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這是他的英雄部隊
04:24
that kept不停 him from drugs毒品 and gangs幫派
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讓他得以堅定的遠離毒品和幫派
04:26
and from giving up on his dreams.
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且不放棄為他的夢想努力
04:29
I'm going to tell you about one more
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我還要跟大家分享我們家族中
04:30
formerly以前 homeless無家可歸 member會員 of our family家庭.
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另一個曾經無家可歸的成員
04:33
This is Scarlett斯嘉麗.
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這是史嘉莉
04:34
Once一旦 upon a time, Scarlet猩紅 was used as bait in dog fights打架.
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史嘉莉曾經是鬥狗場上的誘餌
04:37
She was tied up and thrown拋出 into the ring
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在賽前被綁起來丟進場中
04:40
for other dogs小狗 to attack攻擊 so they'd他們會 get more aggressive侵略性 before the fight鬥爭.
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刺激鬥犬群的攻擊性
04:44
And now, these days, she eats organic有機 food餐飲
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而最近這些日子,史嘉莉吃的是有機食物
04:48
and she sleeps睡覺 on an orthopedic骨科 bed with her name名稱 on it,
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睡在寫著牠名字的矯正床上
04:51
but when we pour water for her in her bowl,
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但每當我們倒水進牠的碗裡時
04:55
she still looks容貌 up and she wags太太團 her tail尾巴 in gratitude感謝.
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牠依然充滿感激的搖尾以對
04:59
Sometimes有時 Brian布賴恩 and I walk步行 through通過 the park公園 with Scarlett斯嘉麗,
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有時我和布萊恩帶著史嘉莉去公園散步
05:02
and she rolls勞斯萊斯 through通過 the grass,
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牠會在草地上打滾
05:05
and we just look at her
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我們看著史嘉莉
05:07
and then we look at each other
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然後再看著彼此
05:09
and we feel gratitude感謝.
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我們心中充滿了感激之情
05:13
We forget忘記 about all of our new middle-class中產階級 frustrations挫折
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我們忘掉生活中面臨的
05:17
and disappointments失望,
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新中產階級挫敗和沮喪
05:18
and we feel like millionaires百萬富翁.
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我們自覺像個百萬富翁
05:21
Thank you.
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謝謝大家
05:22
(Applause掌聲)
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(掌聲)
Translated by Charlene Tsai
Reviewed by Marssi Draw

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ABOUT THE SPEAKER
Tania Luna - Surprisologist
Tania Luna co-founded Surprise Industries, a company devoted to designing surprise experiences.

Why you should listen

Tania Luna has an unusual title: she calls herself a “surprisologist.” The co-founder and CEO of Surprise Industries, Luna thinks deeply about how to delight, and how to help individuals and teams thrive in uncertain circumstances and develop the bonds needed to get through them.

When Luna was invited to take part in TED’s Worldwide Talent Search in 2012, she expected to give a talk about surprise and the importance of not being attached to outcomes. However, she was inspired to tell a more personal story -- one many of her closest friends didn’t know -- about her Ukrainian family getting asylum in the United States when she was 6-yeard-old and arriving in New York with virtually nothing. She sees her work as connected to her upbringing -- in which a piece of Bazooka bubble gum, a thrown-out toy or a mis-delivered pizza was magical -- because it gave her an appreciation for the joy of little surprises. 

More profile about the speaker
Tania Luna | Speaker | TED.com