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.

Busy summer days

Right before we left for a family reunion in Pennsylvania I tried to cram as much fun and time outside as I could in preparation for the 10 hour drive in the car.

On Monday I went to the beach with Misha which was a lot of fun and we had perfect weather. Holland has many beaches but I like Laketown the best because it is one of those hidden, secret gems that only the south-sider locals tend to know about. Also, the huge, long flights of stairs over the dunes tend to be discouraging to folks as well. Although Laketown beach is small, it is usually pretty quiet and secluded; it is a tiny patch of beach in the midst of miles and miles of private beaches. The lake water is the warmest it has been in years which is awesome because last year it literally felt like an ice bath.

Sean is the catcher in the pink hat

After the beach I hung out with Sean for a bit and we went to his Monday night softball game. Amazingly, the team won and it was a really exciting game to watch. Sean played catcher and after the game the team and fans went to Buffalo Wild Wings. It was especially cool to see some old friends that we hadn't seen for a year (Steve and Mary Jo, DeWitt . . . we have missed you!)

Celebratory kisses at BW3s

Apparently, one of the traditions after softball and wings is to head to the beach for a late-night swim and bonfire but I was really tired so I went home. Sean and I spent all of Tuesday running errands: haircut, renewing driver's license, library, grocery store, getting Sean a prepaid cell phone . . .) After drinks on the patio at Boatwerks with Sean's former coworkers at Haworth, we both went home to pack for the trip to PA. Stay tuned to see how the softball team fares in the upcoming championship game - tomorrow (Monday, August 2) night.

Sean's sister, Jenny and I

Read More 0 comments | Posted by Sarah Sanderson

0 comments

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

Busy summer days

0 comments