I never could have guessed that leaving China would be this hard.

When my family and I moved to Beijing three and half years ago, we knew little about this huge nation and even less about 'the expat life.' We threw ourselves into life here and tried to make the most out of every day. Now it is very much our second home.

We are returning to the U.S. as changed people. We have faced and met new challenges. Forcibly cut off from our long-established support systems and every day lives, we discovered new aspects of ourselves, and we grew closer as a family, spending more time with out nuclear five-person unit than we had previously. We also return with a profound appreciation of and respect for Chinese culture as well as a deepened love and understanding of our own homeland.

Sometimes you have to step outside your day-to-day reality to see it with true clarity and I would urge anyone who has the opportunity to spend some time living outside his or her home country to do so. It can be a very broadening experience. Just don't expect to go back as the same person.

I offer sincere thanks to the people of China for the hospitality and respect they have shown me and my family. Though there have been many challenges living here, I have been extremely impressed with the growth and modernization of China it has changed before my eyes with a speed and vigor that has been stunning to behold. I am even more impressed with the kindness and hospitality shown to my family by people from one end of China to the other.

I have been deeply touched by Chinese friends, including my two laoshis and my bandmates in Woodie Alan, all of whom have become dear friends whom I will forever carry in my heart. Each of these people have shown me parts of China I never would have otherwise seen and I have been greatly enriched by our friendships and by meeting their friends and family. I hope that I have been able to make similar impressions on their lives.

But I have also been deeply touched by the thousands of ordinary Chinese citizens whose paths I have crossed in our travels. We have visited many parts of China and enjoyed them all, from the mountains of Sichuan and Yunnan to the Xiamen coast. The love and interest shown to our children has been particularly heartwarming. Though they sometimes tired of posing for photographs or having their hair tossled, I can only say thank you for being so nice to my family. This warmth eased many other problems. Spending this much time in a country that was not so kid friendly would have been difficult for us.

We have been offered home-cooked meals by people living in huts in Guizhou, people who clearly had little for themselves but insisted on sharing it with the foreigners in their midst. We have shared tea and noodles and bread and meat with people all over China and I will never forget any of them.

I believe that friendly relations between China and the United States will be essential for both of our countries in the years to come and I am optimistic that they can be maintained and strengthened. I hope that the political leaders of both nations remember the mutual interests we share and the mutual respect that should be shown to one another.

Both nations are large enough to be self-contained and to breed a bit of arrogance in their citizens. Long ago, China called itself the Middle Kingdom, believing itself to be the center of the world. Contemporary Americans often have the same perspective and we both need to broaden our horizons a bit.

But I truly believe that Chinese and American people have a lot more in common than most seem to recognize. People in both places value family, want the best for their kids and like to relax with family and friends around tables of good food and bottles of cold beer.

China has touched my heart deeply, but I still don't consider myself in any way an expert on this country. I have recoiled the few times I have heard other describe me as such, recalling the sage advice an old China hand gave me shortly after my arrival: If someone calls themselves an expert on China, run the other way. The nation is far too complex for anyone to truly understand it, much less a non-academic writer who has been here a relatively short time.

Almost three years ago, on my first summer visit back to the U.S. I stumbled upon an elderly couple speaking Mandarin in a park near my wife's family home in the small town of Bay City, Michigan. I was as excited as I was surprised and felt like running up and hugging them. I can only imagine how strong those emotions will be now, that I am moving back to the U.S. permanently and will not be returning to my second home in Beijing. I will never look at anything Chinese quite the same way again. Every Chinese person I see, every Chinese restaurant I pass or enter, every Chinese movie I watch will touch something inside me.

In many ways my life in China has been a series of highlights these have been some of the best years of the lives of both my wife and me. But a few moments stand out particularly brightly. One was the formation of my band and some of our performances outside of Beijing. Another was when I learned that my column would be translated into Chinese and subsequently that people were actually reading it and enjoying it. It is hard for me to describe how much it means for me to be accepted in this way by you all. Again, I can only say I thank you and I hope that I have rewarded your faith and loyalty.

I will continue to write my column now that I have returned to the U.S. and I hope that it continues to be of interest to you. For now I say goodbye my friends and thank you for everything.

我永远想像不到作别中国会这么难。

三年半前，当我举家来到北京的时候，我们对这个庞大的国家知之甚少，对海外生活更是缺乏了解。我们投入到这里的生活，努力让每天都过得精彩。现在，中国已成了我们的第二个家。

如今我们回到美国，发现自己已经和原来不同。我们遇到了新的挑战。在不得不离开关系密切的亲朋好友、远离美国的日常生活之后，我们发现了自己新的一面，家人之间变得更亲密了，我们家五个人呆在一起的时间比以往更多了。回到美国时，我们不仅带回了对中国文化深深的欣赏和尊重，还有对自己国家更浓厚的爱和理解。

有时，你需要跳出日常现实之外，才能对其做出更清晰的观察；并且，我会鼓励每个有机会到国外生活一段时间的人尝试这么做。它可能会是一段让你眼界大开的经历。就是别指望回来的时候你还跟以前一样。

我要对我在中国接触到的人对我和我的家人表现出的盛情和尊重表示诚挚的感谢。虽然在中国的生活遇到很多挑战，但中国的发展和现代化给我留下了深刻印象，我是眼看着它以让人震惊的巨大的速度和活力发生着变化。我更被我们在中国从南到北各个地方遇到的人对我的家人表现出的善意和盛情所深深打动。

我也一直被中国的朋友深深打动，其中包括我的两位老师和我在Woodie Alan乐队的队友。他们都成了我的亲密朋友，我在心里会永远牵挂着他们。他们每个人都向我展示了我本来可能根本不会看到的中国的某些方面，我们的友谊、与他们的朋友和家人的接触让我受益匪浅。我希望我也能给他们的生活留下同样深刻的印记。

但同时，我也被我在各地旅行时遇到的许多普普通通的中国人所深深打动。我们游览了中国的许多地方，不论是四川、云南的山区还是厦门的海滨，我们都感受很享受。人们对我们的孩子表现出的喜爱和兴趣特别让我们感到温暖。虽然孩子们有时对摆姿势拍照或者头发被人拨弄得乱糟糟的感到厌烦，但我还是要说感谢你们对我家人的友好。这种温暖让其他问题变得不再重要。如果让孩子们在一个不那么友好的国家呆上这么久，那对我们将是非常艰难的事。

那些居住在棚屋里的贵州人曾和我们分享他们自己做的饭菜，这些人虽然家无长物，但还是坚持与来到他们中间的外国人分享食物。我们在中国许多地方都与当地人分享过茶、面条、面包和肉食，他们中的每一位都让我终身难忘。

我相信，中美两国间的友好关系在今后的岁月中对我们两国都很重要，我对这种关系将得到保持和加强持乐观态度。我希望两国的政治领袖都能牢记两国共同的利益，并牢记我们两国需要彼此尊重对方。

美中都是大国，都有足够的资本能做到自给自足、并在民众中孳生出些许傲慢心态。很久以前中国曾自称中央王国，相信自己是世界的中心。而现在的美国人也常常对自己的国家有同样看法。我们两国都需要扩大一下自己的视野。

我真的认为，中美两国人民的共同点要多于大多数人认为的程度。两国人民都重视家庭，都对孩子寄予最大希望，都喜欢与家人和朋友一起围坐在摆满美味食品和冰啤酒的桌子旁聊天休息。

中国深深打动了我的心，不过，从任何方面来说，我都不认为我已经是个中国方面的专家。有几次我听到别人这么说时感到非常恐慌，这让我想起我刚到中国不久一位中国通给我的忠告：如果有人称自己是中国问题专家，你要反过来看。这个国家太复杂了，任何人都很难真正理解它，更别说是一位在这里没呆多久的非学术作者了。

差不多三年前，我第一次回美国过夏天。在我妻子家人居住的密歇根州贝伊小镇，我在公园里撞见一对讲中文的老夫妇。我既兴奋又意外，很想跑过去拥抱他们。现在，我将永远地返回美国，不会再回到我在北京的第二个家，可以想像，这样的情感会变得怎样地强烈。我再也不会以同样的方式看待任何与中国有关的事。我遇到的每个中国人、路过或进去过的每家中国餐馆、每一部中国电影都将对我的内心有所 动。

在很多方面，我在中国的生活包含着有一系列精彩瞬间，它们是我妻子和我生活中最美好的片断。但其中有些时刻尤其突出，一个是我成立乐队以及我们在北京以外城市的几次演出。另一个是当我听说我的专栏将被翻译成中文、而且后来读者们也很喜欢的时候。我很难描述以这种方式被你们大家接受对我意味着什么。对此，我只能再次说声感谢你们，希望我没有辜负你们的忠实和喜爱。

回到美国后我会继续写我的专栏，我希望它们能继续吸引你们的关注。现在我要说，朋友们，再见了，感谢你们的一切。