Wrapping up

Our date for returning to the US has been set for July 23rd.  Cynthia and the two younger boys are back in the US now.  Mason and I are still in Shanghai.  Mason finished up his finals at Fudan this week and got mostly A's and some of the highest scores in his class.  He and I have been spending time together going out to dinner each night and just hanging out.  It has been a great bonding time as he decides his next step.  He did not get accepted into Northwestern's transfer program and was quite bummed but he's gotten over that and is looking forward to getting back to the states and pursuing opportunities at Columbia College or DePaul.  He flies back to Minnesota on the 11th and has to attend orientations at each college and get his final transcripts from Fudan submitted to complete his applications.  Currently he has a return flight to Shanghai on the 27th of August and has to decide before then whether he wants to attend Fudan for another year on his own in Shanghai or start college in the US (pending his successful application process)  Another scenario would be to get accepted at a US school and defer his enrollment for a year and attend school in China.  A big decision pending - we will keep you posted. 
Cynthia returns to Shanghai on the 13th of July to help with the move and do some last minute networking, shopping and saying goodbyes.  The movers come on the 19th to pack up the house and we will move into a hotel for the remaining days.  My sister will be coming up from Florida on the 19th to watch Regan and Landon and a combination of my parents and friends will watch them  from the 13th to the 19th.  Mason will most likely be in Chicago during this time.  Once all the dust settles we should all be reunited as a family the week of the 25th -  at which time we will probably take a quick vacation - maybe a camping trip.  That is about all for now. Take care and see you all soon.

Home sweet home

Cynthia and the boys arrived safely in Minnesota on Sunday after the long grueling (but uneventful) trip home from China.  There was a bit of a communication glitch that resulted in her missing my parents who were waiting at the airport to pick them up and they ended up taking a taxi home - not sure how they fit all that luggage into a taxi as there were 6 checked bags and three carry ons!  I am in India this week and Mason is on his way back to Shanghai after a trip to Xian to see the Terra Cotta Warriors.  He will be on his own in Shanghai until I return on July 2nd. On the 4th of July I will be meeting with the movers to survey our household good sand decide what will go in the air shipment and what will go in the sea shipment.  We will also schedule the packing date at that time which I am hoping can be arranged for the week of the 18th sometime.  Cynthia will be returning to China on the 13th to help with all the arrangements and finalize the apartment check out and tying up other loose ends.  Mason will depart for Minnesota on July 11th after his graduation ceremony from Fudan University.  Cynthia and I will depart China together on July 23rd at which time our family will be united once again.  Whew!  Lots of details to cover in not alot of time.  Looking forward to seeing everyone back home and getting resettled. 

All good things...

As they say - all good things must come to an end. We found out in early June that our assignment in China was officially ending. After the initial shock wore off we picked ourselves up and brushed ourselves off and said "Okay God. What's next?" the year we spent in China was truly a blessing and a time of expanding our horizons like no other experience could. So - what happened? How did a 3 year assignment turn into a one year gig? It was a perfect storm of sorts (very over used cliche these days but it really does describe the situation well) our China operation was not meeting financial targets combined with a new APAC GM who is a Chinese national and a need in the key accounts organization for someone with experience in the Asia markets. The new GM decided he wanted a Chinese marketing leader which allowed him to cut his expenses by my expat package and quickly help improve the region bottom line. The Global Key Accounts organization needed someone on the team with global experience and I fit the bill. I will be reporting to a great guy who was my stateside sponsor for my expat assignment - so that is a definite plus. All in all it has been a great experience and one that we will cherish for years to come and who knows we might even end up back in the region one of these days.