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.

A good weekend and an even better start to the week

Sean napping on my couch after a tiring Halloween lesson

It seems like there is always something going on during the weekends here in Changzhou. But this weekend we didn't have any specific plans and ended up having a lot of fun anyways. After sleeping in late on Saturday Sean and I had lunch together in one of the little restaurants on campus. Then I went back home and cleaned my house from top to bottom. I swept, mopped, dusted, cleaned the walls, did dishes, did laundry and scrubbed the bathrooms (including the squatter). It felt good to have everything clean and organized - I think it looks better than when I first moved in! A new printer and flat screen TV were delivered as well and now I am just waiting for the desktop computer and DVD player.

The organization of our Halloween lesson: candy, balloons, markers, copies etc.

Saturday night I taught my class with the engineers and then Sean and I skyped with my family. It was fun to see everyone together as my parents are in North Carolina visiting my brother, sister-in-law and my two nieces. On Sunday, Sean and I went downtown for lunch at McDonalds and then walked around and did some shopping and sight-seeing in the city. We went to a big store called Metro that carries a lot of imported food and other western items. It was fun seeing the Chinese version of a Sam's Club and our favorite purchases by far were Halloween costumes/supplies and tortilla chips and salsa. After Metro we visited the big market in the city which sells anything from Hello Kitty slippers to hairdryers to shoes and clothes. It is always a chaotic and mad scene with buyers and sellers haggling over prices. You can bargain at this enormous market and I was glad that I finally have the Chinese numbers down. After shopping, Sean and I enjoyed another delicious western meal at Pizza Hut where the workers were dressed in devils' horns, capes and orange aprons. Halloween is only mildly celebrated here but Sean and I try to hype up the American holiday every chance we can get.

Sean with the packages and letters (I know, he is really hairy)

We spent most of the evening working on our lesson plan for this week. We created a fun-filled two hours of Halloween games, culture and speaking activities (more to come). As I am writing this it is Monday afternoon and so far it has been a great day for two reasons: 1) the Halloween lesson was a blast and the students loved it 2) We received two packages and two letters today. A huge thank you to Sean's sisters, Wilmina and the Braaksmas. You guys made our day!

Some of the packages' contents: banana nut bread mix, Halloween decorations and vampire teeth

Read More 2 comments | Posted by Sarah Sanderson

2 comments

Chen on October 26, 2009 at 3:46 AM

Did your students like the candies?
Sarah Sanderson on October 26, 2009 at 4:14 AM

Yes! They loved them - thanks for the help =)

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

A good weekend and an even better start to the week

2 comments