Dinner with the powerfuls

We were invited to dinner by our client, who is visiting Sydney from overseas for the month.
Considering that Chinese New Year has just past, I thought it would be a slightly more formal dinner, but not so extravagant..... until we have arrived at the restaurant, which was surrounded by these bodyguards wearing earphones, looking like they have just stepped out of the Hollywood movies.

So the special guest of the night was......Prime Minister of Australia, Julia Gillard, together with many Ministers and members of the Parliament..... celebrating Chinese New Year.....
It is evident that the Chinese community holds a strong position here in Australia.

 Prime Minister of Australia - Julia Gillard

Australia also holds a special position in Asia - being so close geographically (still part of Asia Pacific), yet culturally very different.  This creates an interesting tension, and in a way enriches the cultural cross-fertilisation.

We somehow benefitted from this tension; having offices in both Australia and Japan enabled us to stay in a objective position when designing, rather than robbed into preconceptions formed by unintentional habits when being "overly comfortable" at one place.

Anyhow.  After the initial shock, we proceeded onto a pleasant and delicious dinner party.
It was a very interesting and special experience.

from left to right:
Maki from our office (as Yoshi is overseas), Olivia (me), David (client)