First Trip Back to Asia

I left China hoping to try to make it back once a year. It would be impossible to keep up relationships and language ability without some sort of commitment. I'm so thankful that the first chance...10 months after leaving in May 09...came from my company. I have been working closely with our Aerospace Electronics Commodity Manager to find new Asian suppliers for key programs, quote them, review them, and (Ta-Da!) visit them to make a selection! We will now begin the complex technical reviews, awards and transfer of components as a result of the trip.

We were admittedly only going to SE Asia and Shenzhen, China, but I took a few vacation days and ran up to Beijing, since I was already in the area! I got to see a lot of old friends, visit a lot of my favorite places, and enjoy some of the local food that I hadn't had in 10 months. At the same time, I saw a couple more classmates in Singapore, as I was there for a weekend before we started work. It all really lifted my spirits. When you move away from a place...you leave promising your friends that you will be back to see them. Sometimes it happens and sometimes it doesn't. But over the last few months, I've seen a lot of my China and IMBA friends that I wasn't expecting to see again so soon...just because our paths are crossing in various places of the world. Thank goodness that the world is sometimes "flat." And now I can't wait until the next time I see you all again!

Here's a lot of people around the "Hot Pot" Table...Sichuan style!


Then with some of the foreign friends:


And then adjusting to the hot in Singapore: