My China Experience – Conclusion

Two and a half years, thirty months, nine hundred and twelve days.  Tons of “Gong Bao Ji Ding” (chicken with peanuts) and even more “ji dan chao fan” (fried rice and eggs).  One Olympic event, two if you count the Paralympic Games separately.  Countless beautiful tourist attractions, temples, palaces, monuments, markets, and one really Great Wall.  One huge allowed city with a small but spectacular Forbidden part.  Millions of people, thousands of acquaintances, hundreds of peers and co-workers, and a handful of really special friends.

Trade shows, technical fairs, speeches, conferences and conventions, and one canceled Celine Dion concert.  Two Chinese speaking children, one able-to-get-by-in-Chinese wife and a mute – that would be me.

Hundreds of Terracotta Warriors, drums, bells, towers, bell towers, cellular phone rings, fireworks, car horns, cars, trains, buses, people and more people.  Lots of people.

One large natural disaster.  The Sichuan earthquake will always be burnt into my long term memory.  Not only the quake itself and the few horrifying minutes on the tenth floor of the Chuangxin Plaza, but the unity, the charity, the memorials.

Beijing, Shanghai, Dalian, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Tianjin, Datong, Changchun, Wuhan, but also Thailand, Japan, Korea, India and Russia.  Exploding economy, strong currency, dynamic stock market, and one big real estate bubble ready to burst.

Smoke, smog, air pollution, water pollution and one big milk scandal.

Dozens of device drivers, certification programs, software engineering, software engineers, quality processes, staff meetings, visitors, and one excellent operating system.  Undoubtedly, the Beijing site contribution to the Solaris OS is significant and will continue to be.

Rich in adventures, filled with interesting people and intriguing relationships.  A culture, thousands of years old, yet completely new to me.  Unfamiliar customs, yet a constant feeling of being at home.  This was My China Experience.  And a lot more.

Being the wanderer that I am, I get attached to people, not to places.  I will miss China.  Not the geography, but the people.

Spending two and a half years in China was an exotic experience, one that’s not shared by many.  Obviously, almost everything I saw here was new to me, the sites, the smells, the flavors.  But what made it really special are the people I met.  People from all walks of life.  From highly educated professionals, through blue collar workers, taxi drivers, waiters, shopkeepers, all the way to really poor people.  My experience with almost everyone was that they were kind, willing to help, and warmhearted.  Of course, there were exceptions, but the exceptions were the absolute the minority.

I have left places before in my life.  I left schools, military units, workplaces.  I left countries, towns and homes.  Indeed, every departure was followed by a new beginning, a new place, a change of career, a change of scenery.  I can clearly say without doubt, nobody ever said goodbye to me in a more graceful way than my Beijing team.  And there were some parties before.  Big ones.  But the goodbye party given to me in Beijing was absolutely outstanding.  Not the venue (it was our large conference room, quite adequate if I may say so myself), not the food (although pizza, wings and soda are a great combination).  There was something about the people, the words said, the pictures taken, the video playing in the background.  I felt appreciated, I felt that I was surrounded with love and affection.  I felt that I touched peoples’ lives.  I knew that when someone writes the history of Sun Microsystems, Beijing Engineering and Research Institute, I will have had a part in it.  My spirit will remain long after I depart.

We’re leaving parts of ourselves behind, and taking some of China home with us.  Our China experience will remain in our collective memories foras long as we live.

So to whoever made my stay here joyful, successful, adventurous, educational, exploratory, I offer my thanks.  To those who cared about us, helped in whatever way, made sure that we were happy and content, and to those who want it, I offer my friendship.  To a handful of people, I offer a lifelong commitment that I will be there for them whenever they need me.  Anything I can ever do for you, absolutely anything, just let me know.

This concludes my china experience.  It also concludes My China Experience.  It also concludes my Sun Microsystems experience.  I promise you though: my Big Mouth is here to stay.