TED@New York
Tania Luna: How a penny made me feel like a millionaire
Tania Luna: Com un cèntim em va fer sentir milionària
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De petita, la Tania Luna va deixar la seva casa en la Ucraïna post-Txernòbil per asilar-se en els Estats Units. I un dia, al terra de l'alberg per a sense sostres de Nova York on vivien ella i la seva família, va trobar un cèntim. Mai s'ha tornat a sentir tan rica. Una reflexió sobre les alegries agredolces de la infantesa... i com mantenir-les en ment.
Tania Luna - Surprisologist
Tania Luna co-founded Surprise Industries, a company devoted to designing surprise experiences. Full bio
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 old, and I am very proud.
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Tinc cinc anys i estic molt orgullosa.
00:16
My father has just built the best outhouse
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El meu pare acaba de construir el millor lavabo exterior
00:20
in our little village in Ukraine.
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en el nostre petit llogaret a Ucraïna.
00:22
Inside, it's a smelly, gaping hole in the ground,
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Per dins, és un enorme i pudent forat al terra,
00:26
but outside, it's pearly white formica
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però per fora, és fòrmica blanca nacrada
00:30
and it literally gleams in the sun.
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i realment brilla al sol.
00:34
This makes me feel so proud, so important,
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Això em fa sentir tan orgullosa, tan important,
00:37
that I appoint myself the leader of my little group of friends
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que em nombro a mi mateixa cap
del meu petit grup d'amics
del meu petit grup d'amics
00:40
and I devise missions for us.
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i ideo missions per a nosaltres.
00:43
So we prowl from house to house
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O sigui que rondem de casa en casa
00:45
looking for flies captured in spider webs
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buscant mosques capturades en teranyines
00:49
and we set them free.
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i les alliberem.
00:51
Four years earlier, when I was one,
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Quatre anys abans, quan jo en tenia un,
00:53
after the Chernobyl accident,
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després de l'accident de Txernòbil,
00:55
the rain came down black,
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va caure la pluja negra,
00:57
and my sister's hair fell out in clumps,
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i el cabell de la meva germana queia a grapats,
00:59
and I spent nine months in the hospital.
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i jo em vaig passar nou mesos a l'hospital.
01:02
There were no visitors allowed,
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Les visites no estaven permeses,
01:03
so my mother bribed a hospital worker.
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així que la meva mare va subornar
un treballador de l'hospital.
un treballador de l'hospital.
01:07
She acquired a nurse's uniform,
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Va aconseguir un uniforme d'infermera,
01:10
and she snuck in every night to sit by my side.
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i es colava cada nit per seure al meu costat.
01:15
Five years later, an unexpected silver lining.
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Cinc anys després, un fet positiu inesperat.
01:18
Thanks to Chernobyl, we get asylum in the U.S.
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Gràcies a Txernòbil, vam aconseguir asil als Estats Units.
01:22
I am six years old, and I don't cry when we leave home
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Tinc sis anys i no ploro quan deixem la casa
01:26
and we come to America,
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i venim a Amèrica,
01:27
because I expect it to be a place filled with rare
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perquè espero que sigui un lloc ple de coses
01:31
and wonderful things like bananas and chocolate
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estranyes i meravelloses com plàtans i xocolata
01:35
and Bazooka bubble gum,
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i xiclets Bazooka,
01:37
Bazooka bubble gum with the little cartoon wrappers inside,
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els xiclets Bazooka amb els petits embolcalls
amb caricatures a dins,
amb caricatures a dins,
01:41
Bazooka that we'd get once a year in Ukraine
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Bazooka que aconseguiem un cop a l'any a Ucraïna
01:45
and we'd have to chew one piece for an entire week.
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i que havíem de mastegar-ne una peça
durant una setmana sencera.
durant una setmana sencera.
01:49
So the first day we get to New York,
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O sigui que el primer dia que arribem a Nova York,
01:50
my grandmother and I find a penny
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la meva àvia i jo trobem un cèntim
01:53
in the floor of the homeless shelter that my family's staying in.
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al terra de l'alberg per als sense sostre
on la meva família s'allotja.
on la meva família s'allotja.
01:56
Only, we don't know that it's a homeless shelter.
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Només que, nosaltres no sabem
que és un alberg per a sense sostres.
que és un alberg per a sense sostres.
01:58
We think that it's a hotel, a hotel with lots of rats.
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Nosaltres pensem que és un hotel,
un hotel amb un munt de rates.
un hotel amb un munt de rates.
02:01
So we find this penny kind of fossilized in the floor,
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I trobem aquest cèntim així com fossilitzat al terra,
02:06
and we think that a very wealthy man must have left it there
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i pensem que un home molt ric el deu haver deixat allí
02:09
because regular people don't just lose money.
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perquè la gent corrent no perd els diners.
02:11
And I hold this penny in the palm of my hand,
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I jo vaig sostenir aquest cèntim en el palmell de la meva mà,
02:14
and it's sticky and rusty,
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i és enganxifós i oxidat,
02:16
but it feels like I'm holding a fortune.
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però sembla com si tingués una fortuna a les mans.
02:19
I decide that I'm going to get my very own piece
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Decideixo que m'aconseguiré
02:21
of Bazooka bubble gum.
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un xiclet Bazooka.
02:23
And in that moment, I feel like a millionaire.
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I en aquell moment, em sento milionària.
02:27
About a year later, I get to feel that way again
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Més o menys un any després, em torno a sentir igual
02:29
when we find a bag full of stuffed animals in the trash,
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quan trobem una bossa plena de peluixos
a les escombraries,
a les escombraries,
02:32
and suddenly I have more toys
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i de sobte tinc més joguines
02:34
than I've ever had in my whole life.
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que les que havia tingut mai en tota la meva vida.
02:37
And again, I get that feeling when we get a knock
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I de nou, torno a tenir aquella sensació quan truquen
02:39
on the door of our apartment in Brooklyn,
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a la porta del nostre apartament a Brooklyn,
02:41
and my sister and I find a deliveryman
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i la meva germana i jo trobem un repartidor
02:44
with a box of pizza that we didn't order.
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amb una capsa de pizza que no havíem demanat.
02:46
So we take the pizza, our very first pizza,
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O sigui que agafem la pizza, la nostra primera pizza,
02:49
and we devour slice after slice
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i la devorem porció rera porció
02:52
as the deliveryman stands there and stares at us from the doorway.
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mentre el repartidor és dempeus
i ens observa des de la porta.
i ens observa des de la porta.
02:56
And he tells us to pay, but we don't speak English.
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I ens diu de pagar, però nosaltres no parlem anglès.
02:59
My mother comes out, and he asks her for money,
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La meva mare surt, i ell li demana diners,
03:01
but she doesn't have enough.
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però ella no en té prou.
03:02
She walks 50 blocks to and from work every day
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Ella camina 50 illes de cases
d'anada i tornada de la feina cada dia
d'anada i tornada de la feina cada dia
03:06
just to avoid spending money on bus fare.
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per evitar gastar diners en el bitllet d'autobús.
03:08
Then our neighbor pops her head in,
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Aleshores la nostra veïna treu el cap,
03:10
and she turns red with rage when she realizes
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i es posa vermella de ràbia quan s'adona
03:13
that those immigrants from downstairs
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que aquells immigrants del pis de baix
03:15
have somehow gotten their hands on her pizza.
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s'han fet amb la seva pizza.
03:19
Everyone's upset.
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Tothom està molest.
03:21
But the pizza is delicious.
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Però la pizza és deliciosa.
03:25
It doesn't hit me until years later just how little we had.
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No m'adono fins anys després del poc que teniem.
03:31
On our 10 year anniversary of being in the U.S.,
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En el nostre desè aniversari d'estança als Estats Units,
03:33
we decided to celebrate by reserving a room
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decidim celebrar-ho reservant una habitació
03:35
at the hotel that we first stayed in when we got to the U.S.
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al primer hotel que vam estar
quan vam arribar als Estats Units.
quan vam arribar als Estats Units.
03:38
The man at the front desk laughs, and he says,
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L'home del taulell de recepció riu i diu:
03:40
"You can't reserve a room here. This is a homeless shelter."
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"No podeu reservar una habitació aquí.
Aquest és un alberg per a sense sostres".
Aquest és un alberg per a sense sostres".
03:43
And we were shocked.
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I nosaltres ens vam quedar sorpresos.
03:45
My husband Brian was also homeless as a kid.
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El meu marit Brian també era un sense sostre de petit.
03:49
His family lost everything, and at age 11,
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La seva família ho va perdre tot i als 11 anys
03:52
he had to live in motels with his dad,
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va haver de viure en motels amb el seu pare,
03:55
motels that would round up all of their food
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motels que els agafarien tot el seu menjar
03:58
and keep it hostage until they were able to pay the bill.
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i el mantindrien com a ostatge
fins que poguessin pagar la factura.
fins que poguessin pagar la factura.
04:02
And one time, when he finally got his box
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I una vegada, quan finalment li van tornar
04:04
of Frosted Flakes back, it was crawling with roaches.
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la seva capsa de Frosted Flakes,
estava plena d'escarabats.
estava plena d'escarabats.
04:08
But he did have one thing.
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Però ell tenia una cosa.
04:10
He had this shoebox that he carried with him everywhere
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Ell tenia aquesta capsa de sabates
que duia amb ell a tot arreu,
que duia amb ell a tot arreu,
04:12
containing nine comic books,
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que contenia nou còmics,
04:15
two G.I. Joes painted to look like Spider-Man
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dos G.I. Joe pintats per semblar Spiderman
04:18
and five Gobots. And this was his treasure.
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i cinc Gobots. I aquest era el seu tresor.
04:21
This was his own assembly of heroes
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Aquest era el seu armament propi d'herois
04:24
that kept him from drugs and gangs
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que el protegien de drogues i bandes
04:26
and from giving up on his dreams.
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i d'abandonar els seus somnis.
04:29
I'm going to tell you about one more
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Us parlaré sobre un membre més
04:30
formerly homeless member of our family.
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de la nostra família.
04:33
This is Scarlett.
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Aquesta és l'Scarlett.
04:34
Once upon a time, Scarlet was used as bait in dog fights.
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Fa molt temps, feien servir l'Scarlet
com a esquer en baralles de gossos.
com a esquer en baralles de gossos.
04:37
She was tied up and thrown into the ring
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La lligaven i la llençaven al ring
04:40
for other dogs to attack so they'd get more aggressive before the fight.
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per a que l'ataquessin els altres gossos
i així es posessin més agressius abans de la lluita.
i així es posessin més agressius abans de la lluita.
04:44
And now, these days, she eats organic food
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I ara, aquests dies, ella s'alimenta de menjar orgànic
04:48
and she sleeps on an orthopedic bed with her name on it,
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i dorm en un llit ortopèdic que té el seu nom escrit,
04:51
but when we pour water for her in her bowl,
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però quan li posem aigua en el seu bol,
04:55
she still looks up and she wags her tail in gratitude.
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ella encara mira enlaire i mou la cua amb agraïment.
04:59
Sometimes Brian and I walk through the park with Scarlett,
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A vegades, el Brian i jo caminem pel parc amb l'Scarlett,
05:02
and she rolls through the grass,
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i ella fa tombarelles per la gespa,
05:05
and we just look at her
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i nosaltres tan sols la mirem
05:07
and then we look at each other
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i després ens mirem l'un a l'altre
05:09
and we feel gratitude.
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i sentim gratitud.
05:13
We forget about all of our new middle-class frustrations
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Ens oblidem de totes les nostres
noves fustracions i desil·lusioins
noves fustracions i desil·lusioins
05:17
and disappointments,
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de classe mitjana,
05:18
and we feel like millionaires.
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i ens sentim com a milionaris.
05:21
Thank you.
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Gràcies.
05:22
(Applause)
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(Aplaudiments)
ABOUT THE SPEAKER
Tania Luna - SurprisologistTania 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.
Tania Luna | Speaker | TED.com