U.S. Foreign Service Officer headed to Wuhan, China

The mission of a U.S. diplomat in the Foreign Service is to promote peace, support prosperity, and protect American citizens while advancing the interests of the U.S. abroad. The work that diplomats do has an impact on the world as they serve at one of any of the more than 270 embassies, consulates and other diplomatic missions in The Americas, Africa, Europe and Eurasia, East Asia and Pacific, Middle East and North Africa, and South Asia.

The duties of a Consular Officer include to provide emergency and non-emergency services to American citizens and protect our borders through the proper adjudication of visas to foreign nationals and passports to American citizens. We adjudicate immigrant and non-immigrant visas, facilitate adoptions, help evacuate Americans, combat fraud, and fight human trafficking. Consular Officers touch people’s lives in important ways, often reassuring families in crisis. They face many situations which require quick thinking under stress and develop and use a wide range of skills, from managing resources and conducting public outreach to assisting Americans in distress.

Family Time

My sisters and I (from top to bottom: me, Catalina (Cata - 14), Maria Jose (Kote - 17)

Living with a Chilean family has been a really fun experience and I have learned so much more than had I been living on my own. My family spoils me like crazy and it will be hard to go back to living by myself. My Chilean mom stays at home and takes care of the house, so every day my room and bathroom are cleaned, my clothes are washed, my breakfast is laid out on the table, my lunch is packed, and my dinner is ready for me when I get home. Sometimes I feel like it is the life of luxury here because I don’t have to go grocery shopping or cook. The only thing that I have had to get used to is keeping my room clean. My Chilean mom likes things very organized and gets upset if I leave things on the floor or if I leave my bed unmade; thus, out of respect, I have had to change habits of being a semi-messy person into being a very organized person. I think, however, that the trade-off is more than fair =)

Slowly but surely I have been getting to know my Chilean sisters better and the other night we decided to have a photo shoot. We posed in a lot of different positions and there was definitely a lot of laughing involved. Yesterday I went shopping in one of the huge open-air markets with my sisters and they helped me pick out some cool Chilean things. Being 14 and 17 they are totally into fashion, music, and guys and it is fun to hang out with them. Since the beginning, though, the 14 year-old, Catalina, has wanted to cut my hair in a Chilean way and I finally let her do it last night. Thus, the pictures of me in the photo shoot are the last ones I have of me with my normal, long American-looking hair. Catalina is very good with hair, nails, makeup …etc. And my haircut is definitely Chilean . . .it is very interesting, but fun and I am having a good time learning how to be more Chilean like them fashion-wise.

Read More 2 comments | Posted by Sarah Sanderson

2 comments

Anonymous on May 30, 2006 at 9:45 PM

"SEMI"-messy person? LOL - I hope you're being sarcastic! :P - Al
Anonymous on May 31, 2006 at 12:55 PM

BWAhAHHAhAHHAhAHhahAa... Dem Pix ARe FunniE!!!

Wanderlust

In Mandarin: 旅遊癮 (lǚyóu yǐn)

According to my Mandarin teacher, the term 'wanderlust' can best be translated as 'a travel addiction or craving'. In the above translation, 'yǐn' has several meanings such as 'a strong impulse', 'a longing', or 'a desire'.

U.S. Foreign Service Officer headed to Wuhan, China

Family Time

2 comments