6th and 7th day in Suzhou- Heat and Homesick

Sixth full day in Suzhou- Wuxhong Junior Chamber of Commerce, Williams Control

Seventh full day in Suzhou- Campus Discovery, Bruce, Black and Decker, heat-heat-heat

High heat, no rain………..no Omar. Seems strange not having Omar with us, definitely incomplete. He took a taxi to the train station, train to the airport, flew to Beijing and made it safely there. It will be good for him to polish up his Mandarin and Engrish and we all look forward to meeting up with him in Shanghai.

Over the last couple of days, the pavement has been dry but the air has been wet. On the 97 degree day Kim had enough of her AC being broken. The maintenance man came in, pushed a few buttons and walked away saying it was all fine. We all had a puzzled look as it clearly was not fine. Omar was not missed as much as he had been- the extra air conditioned room was just what we needed. Thanks for leaving, Omar! J

The disconnect from the family is getting more and more frustrating as time goes on. All of the other students have internet and we cannot send a simple email to our families. We can’t check bank accounts, research companies….nothing. I got some internet time at Blue Marlin a couple of days ago so I was able to post some blog notes. The blog and facebook are both blocked in China so I had to vpn to pdx and rdp to desklwebster-not exactly high speed but it worked.  Today, I am going to Starbucks as soon as we are done with our morning meeting and getting online, skyping home and getting some things done. I am so hopeful that we will be there early enough so I am not calling Reid in the middle of the night for him. Should be a good day. I have tried to shop for dresses for Sydney but find myself just wanting to take her shopping instead.  We have a massage scheduled together when I get back and I cannot wait to just be with her. Xia and I are overdue for some park time and this week might be a good time to get rid of those training wheels once and for all. Homesickness is setting in.

So, what have we done other than whine about heat and home? A lot. The Williams Control tour made me want to jump on their career page of their web site. Seems to be an amazing place to work- at least in theory. It kind of opened my eyes to some ideas that could be taken to my work. The Wuxhong Junior Chamber of Commerce was another favorite visit and could be a great opportunity to further strengthen the relationship between Portland and Suzhou. The NOV group spent much of the day keeping Bruce on his toes as he translated for them and then us………….all day. The guy must be exhausted but said he still loves it. In another month, he will be a 1^st year Electrical Engineering Graduate student at Duke University studying in English (his second language). I think he is a little bit smart and might have a few opportunities open up for him when he graduates-maybe. Our final tour was Black and Decker and that was also very impressive. I found it interesting that not only are they and export only company but they are located in the export district- seem strange to have a location specifically for that.

Becky and I have decided on our project. With a spoon and hairclip- we were able to get into the bottle of wine and get some good brainstorming time in. Rain started again and it is still pouring right now- 12 hours later.  Melissa, Becky and I ventured out in it to get dinner, walked through the old campus and strolled down one of our favorite streets. It would be nice to know when the South gate locks and the old campus gate locks. Oh well- our dependable Dong gate was open and we called it a night.

Today, I just finished my instant oatmeal (Thank-you, James!!) and will be leaving soon to meet professor Xu-Followed by internet, cramming to turn in all homework and packing.