Japanese Wine Ceremony

The Evening started with a Wine Ceremony where Professor Burgelman and members of the Japan team broke the cover of the wine especially made for our class. People then line up with their wine glasses to fill up and toast with one another. We then had Thai dancers, Bollywood disco followed by an evening of Karaoke. Chef Raul outdid himself and outsourced to bring delicacies from all corners of Asia starting with a roast suckling pig, sushi, Chinese food, Indian curry. Dennis even sent special spices from his golf club in Singapore and we had Singaporean and Malaysian soup made. It was a great evening and celebration of our time spent in Stanford. 

Asia Party

Ahmed and I were the emcees for the absolute best party. It was fun for all the family members as well. 

Organization Behaviour

I learned something in this class. We saw the gorilla video and no ONE saw the big gorilla who walked across the screen. Also discussions and film on how people behaved when they role played had a lasting impact. 

Study group or wine tasting party?

We studied hard and some turned into alcoholics during the SEP program! 

Study Group 1

My beloved Group 1. We did a lot of things together throughout the program and supported each other through hundreds of case studies. 

Kericho Aids Orphanage

This was an amazing effort by the entire SEP class of 2006. A great legacy and a way to keep us close after we leave Stanford. 

Stanford Charity Auction

We seeded the idea of a charity auction at the end of the Stanford Executive Program. It was a smashing success! The ladies all wore Hawaiian dresses and we raised $200k to build an aids orphanage in Kericho, Kenya. Great fun for a great cause. The best part is I get to host a couple of groups of people in Beijing! 

Derek and Matthew

Two boys sharing a joke. 

DD walking Emily

Here's Dee Dee walking or running Emily at the dog park. 

Twister and Emily

Here's Twister - The Smoulder's beautiful golden retriever. Emily loves to play with Twister until she got her own dog Dee Dee. 

Wally the lover

Here's Wally, Danesh's dog - Wally loves people and loves to kiss on the mouth! 

Day in the Park -Dog park

We spent a great autumn day at the dog park with the Smouders, the Chaos, the Munshi's and Mathew who was visiting Derek for the week. There were 4 dogs too! 

Soccer Coach-Beijing

I coached 97 soccer and really got the girls involved with the sport. It was great fun to run around with the kids. Emily also started to like sports which made it extra fun. 

Pick up Emily from the bus stop

Daddy picked up Emily from the Bus stop on thanksgiving day. 

Thanksgiving 2006 in Beijing

We had a big chicken instead of a turkey. This year Helen, grandma and Bill came to visit and the two maid cooked up a storm. 

Giraffe in the Park-WAB event

Emily's performance night at WAB. Bill came specifically to watch Emily who had a solo, a piano piece and did lots of fun things! 

Shopping for Derek's shoes

Here we are shopping for the Allan Iverson shoes all over the major department stores in Taipei. They didn't have his size or color. 

Lobby of the Taipei Grand Hyatt

The most interesting modern xmas trees at the hotel lobby. 

Taipei Night Market

The famous Taipei Night Market. We bought gadgets. Derek and I had the stinky tofu. We had a huge dinner at Ding Tai Feng before hand so didn't have any appetite for anything there. 

Build-a-bear workshop Taipei

Emily found the Build-a-bear workshop in Taipei and we went there 5 times over the xmas holiday. She's in bear heaven this year. She added two to her collection and gave one to Candy. Also went back to get more accessories. Good thing it was close to the hotel so we could walk there. Derek shopped for shoes for a couple of days. 

Palace Museum

Emily and Derek lasted about 10 minutes inside the museum. I took pictures at the same spots many many years ago. It's a strange feeling coming back on my own with the two children. 

Beijing Squatter

Here's Derek's imitation of a Beijing Squatter. 

Palace Museum, Taipei

Here's a contest to see who looks dorkier. 

Carried by the wind

Derek and Emily are being lifted up by the high wind on top of Taipei 101. 

Taipei 101 on Dec 21, 2006

On top of Taipei 101 - we are standing at the outdoor observation deck. It was windy but not too cold. We goofed around for a while and went indoors to watch a video on the new years celebration. It was really cool to see fireworks jetting out of the building!