On the way to China

Well, here it is, just 5 weeks to go until I leave for China on an assignment that could last for close to a year. Is it exciting? yes but at the same time I know it is going to be difficult for not only me but my entire family. You see, they will not be going with me on this long trip. Oh yes, they will visit and I will make it home every 3 months, but it is still not the same.

My thought process here is to keep a daily log going for those of you who want to follow my time in China. I will put together a synopsis covering what I have been doing, where I have been and how the project is going. You see, for those of you who do not know me, I work for Intel Corporation and the company is building a semiconductor manufacturing facility in Dalian China. I have been asked to go and help start the factory up. My responsibilities will be to install and qual the manufacturing equipment to prepare for the first material to be run through the facility.
I am part of a team who is called IQ or Install and Qual. We work on readying the building all the way from the building being built to the point were the first qualification material is run through the first line of manufacturing. This for the most part will take 9 to 10 months. During that time, myself and the team I am part of will be working extremely hard keeping the project on schedule.

This is all going to make my life both busy, exciting and tiring. I am not sure how I will hold up nor what I am going to say. It will be like my journal which I hope people will enjoy. Please feel free to add any comments. I will look forward to the responses. After all, I am going to be in a country that is much different than our great United States. I will be trying to learn some of the language and trying to fit into the culture. It will be fun.

Over the next 5 weeks, I will be preparing myself to get over to China. I have already received all of my required shots, health checks, and visa paperwork. I have also received a one way ticket to China. That is a shocker huh? I am in the process of getting my Z visa which allows me to work in China. I will keep this site updated over the next 5 weeks.

Right now, this week, I am enjoying a week off with my wonderful wife. She and I are in Pinetop Arizona enjoying the cool weather. We both needed this time away from the heat and by ourselves. I will be wrapping up the next four weeks starting with next Monday at work and then off to China.