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.

Christmas festivities

Ken spreading Christmas cheer on his apartment door

Whew! It's been a busy and fun Christmas in Changzhou though quite different from a Christmas spent at home with the Sandersons. On Wednesday night the university gave the foreign teachers a Christmas banquet in the hotel on campus. Banquets are an important part of the culture in China and the more 'important' your job is the more banquets you are required to attend. So far Sean and I have only been to one but we are already going to another one next week for New Years.

The banquets are fun because there is a lot of good and new kinds of food and it is nice to be able to talk with the other foreign teachers from Japan and Germany but they are quite different from dinners in America. The Chinese men go around the table handing out their business cards and there is a large emphasis on drinking and an even larger preoccupation with toasting. The Chinese don't drink like Americans; instead of having a large glass of an alcoholic beverage they have small glasses that waitresses constantly refill because the contents of each glass are consumed with each new toast.

The president holding an expensive bottle of baijiu, the traditional Chinese alcoholic drink

This banquet was especially interesting because the president of the university attended. This raised the level of machismo drinking up quite a bit and the expensive baijiu was brought out especially for the occasion (the bottle the president is holding is worth about $100 USD). They gave us elaborate boxes of apples for a Christmas gift because apparently there is some connection with apples and peace in China.

After the banquet the other teachers and I went caroling in the dorms which was hilarious. The dorms are huge and high structures with a large courtyard in the middle so when we sang as a group in the center all the students could hear and see us. Last year the boys compared it to feeling like a rock star and I can totally relate as the students seemed way too excited to see Americans in Santa hats screeching out Christmas carols right before curfew. We always exited to a light show of camera flashbulbs and mighty roars of appreciation from the crowd. It was definitely a unique and entertaining experience and one that I won't forget.

Read More 1 Comment | Posted by Sarah Sanderson

1 Comment

Anonymous on December 27, 2009 at 9:26 AM

Looks like an awesome and unique time! :) Keep it coming, Sarah. Love it!

-Tally

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

Christmas festivities

1 Comment