Method Week № 08

Tomando un viaje a Puerto Rico

Method Week 8 is behind us and it was one we’ll never forget. Here’s a high-level overview of some of the week’s top moments:

What’s Method Week?

If you’ve read our other Method Week posts, you’ll want to skip over this section as it will be highly repetitive. But for those who are unfamiliar, here’s a crash course:

Every quarter, we shut down our studio for one week to focus on our team. Each Method Week falls under one of four themes that correspond with core elements of our cultural philosophy.

Those themes are:

Do
Make something together. It could be anything from a mobile app to a wooden bench.

Learn
We’ll take the week to learn something we’ve always wanted to learn as a company. 3D modeling? Sure. Designing for AR/VR? Sure. Wine tasting? Heck yes.

Teach
Take what we know as a company and go teach it to someone else. Or, we could teach each other something new.

Experience
This week will be reserved for our company trip.

Picking a favorite Method Week theme is a bit like choosing your favorite child. But it’s safe to say that the ‘Explore’ theme tends to bring out some of the most memorable experiences.

Method Week 8 was no exception, as we embarked on a journey to our most remote destination yet…

Puerto Rico has always been on our list — but as more of a joke than anything else. Group trips can be tricky, and adding a foreign country into the mix complicates logistics 10x. However, insider knowledge eventually pushed us to take the leap.

Funsize has two Puerto Ricans on the team (Mari and Serena), who provided us with a deadly planning advantage. We were able to find the best deals, hit the coolest spots and attack this vacation with the precision of a SEAL team (realistically, more like a group of designers looking to have a nice time).

Monday

Monday was a typical travel day. We went to an incredible restaurant called… Chilis’ (heard of it!?) for some airport margs and were off to the races. The team landed in San Juan around 8PM and the trip officially commenced with a kickoff dinner right by the ocean in which the entire team guzzled mofongo and mojitos.

Our HQ for the week was located in Old San Juan, a beautiful town filled with colorful architecture that felt like it was straight out of a time capsule (cobblestone streets, the whole 9 yards).

Our new residence was a compound-style, 8-bedroom home resembling something you’d see on The Real World. Listed at $1.5 million dollars, the home featured a massive courtyard with access to every bedroom and an underground jacuzzi/grotto!

Tuesday

We woke up, ate breakfast and then set off to explore— piling into two rented SUVs, plus one that was kindly lent to us by Mari’s family.

Our first stop was an old fort/national monument called Castillo San Felipe del Morro. ‘El Morro’ was built in the 16th century and is visited by over 2 million people per year. It was cool to begin the trip with such an important part of Puerto Rican history.

Everyone knows historical sightseeing is best followed by snacks. After the monument, we headed straight for snow cones and then to the birthplace of pina coladas, Barrachina. From there, we broke for free time with some folks heading for the beach and others electing to nap. We then had a team dinner at a place locals called ‘Dance Bar’ for some dancing, followed by a walk through Parque de las Palomas (which translates to “Pigeon Park” and you’ll see why).

Wednesday

The next day, we woke up early and drove two hours to La Parguera, a nature preserve, where we met up with Mari’s family relative who runs a charter company. He ferried us out, six at a time, to a private yacht and we departed for a picturesque little cove where we spent the entire day. The water was chest-deep and crystal clear, separated from the ocean by mangroves and a sandbar. It was one of the top moments of the trip.

After lunch on the boat and a few more hours of swimming, we hopped into our SUV fleet and headed back to rest and shower up. Lindsay had to get back to the states the next morning for a wedding, so we went to a speakeasy bar for her last night. Mari’s husband Guigo taught everyone how to salsa dance and the whole teamed danced for hours.

Thursday

8 AM hit hard the next day. Collectively feeling a little “under the weather” and increasingly tired from the week’s hardcore relaxing, we summoned our strength and pressed on. After all, when was the next time we’d be back in Puerto Rico together? Moving slowly, we got our things together and headed to El Yunque National Forest.

It was a half-mile hike to the forests’ famous waterfalls and the views were definitely worth it. We initiated a buddy system so that no one got eaten by the jungle. Mari’s advice: “Don’t get lost. No one will find you and you will die.” The only problem with the buddy system is: it only works if at least one buddy is not adventurous. We lost Andre and Brittany for a decent chunk of time. But no harm done and they made it out unscathed.

From there, we checked out a place called La Placita de Santurce. For Austinites, this was basically Puerto Rico’s Rainey Street. Lots of bars, live music, and people milling around.

Friday

We flew home tired, somewhat relaxed, and happy.

The End.

Funsize is digital service and product design agency that works with inspiring design and engineering teams to uncover opportunities, evolve popular products, bring new businesses to market, and prepare for the future. Worked at by friends. Got a project for us, Let’s Chat!

Photos by Natalie Armendariz and Phi Hoang

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