Trending @ Dimagi: Burpees, Hot Pot, & Bailey

After a few months working on various projects in Africa, I’m now back in Dimagi’s Cambridge office, where the snow is a plenty and the fun never stops. Since I left in August, a couple of things have taken off at Dimagi (and they’re not just CommCare projects).

Burpees: In early December, burpees (an intense combination of push ups and squats) were introduced to Dimagi by our South Africa office. They’ve now officially spread to our team worldwide. At frequent intervals throughout the day, people will take a break from their work to burpee, either off on their own or in the middle of the office. Many are trying to hit the following goal our DSA Country Director Kieran set out (“Do 1000 Push-up Burpees by Christmas Lunch time wherever you are!”), while some just do them for fun. It’s gotten so intense that we’ve:

• Developed the Google Spreadsheet below to track our progress. Our sole Field Manager Dale in Burkina Faso is currently in the lead.
• Two of our California-based staff, Hilary and Matt, went so far as to create this AMAZING video of them doing burpees in the California desert.
• In the Boston office, our landlord came up to ask us why we were dropping heavy objects constantly. It took us a minute to answer that question.

Hot Pot: A new tradition in the Dimagi Boston office is Hot Pot Wednesdays. One of our Program Analysts, Mengji, started the tradition when she brought in her hot pot to cook with some other Dimagineers. People loved it, and so we bought a second hot pot. Now, on every Wednesday, everyone brings in something that they would like to contribute (be it a zucchini, some dumplings, or mushrooms) and we all have a hot pot lunch.

Bailey: is the name of our CEO’s adorable cattle dog. She’s maybe the best dog ever, and  as you can see from the photos below, loves belly rubs. Welcome to the Dimagi family, Bailey!