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.

The trek to PA

Sean, his Dad, and his sister

Seeing family has been a big part of the summer so far. This last week Sean's sister Jenny flew up from Florida to hang out and see us. Before she left for her flight back home we snapped some obligatory family pictures in their front yard.

A not-so-comforting rest area sign in PA

Huge points go out to Sean for going to an extended family reunion with me in which he had to: drive 10 hours in the car, sleep on a cot in a hotel room with my whole family, repeat China experiences over and over to my relatives and miss most of an ultimate frisbee tournament with his friends in Detroit. Sean, however, handled everything like a gentlemen and even had fun in the process - we got to hike Mt. Nittany, swim in pools, go in hot tubs, eat at good restaurants and explore Penn State.

This is the face Sean likes to make when I take annoying pictures for the blog

I was really glad that he was able to come and I know my family appreciated it too. The hours in the car were long on Wednesday, though, and the inevitable construction on I-80 didn't help. Fortunately, Mom always packs good snacks and picnics, we stopped at rest stops a lot, played fun card games (Five Crowns, Phase 10, Cribbage and Farkel) and napped extensively.

My dad in appropriate Hammerson reunion attire getting final instructions for the reunion

Every year our family attends an event known as the "Hammerson Cousins' Campout" which started about 25 years ago as a way for my dad's side of the family to see each other, camp and have a good time together. Surprisingly, this event still continues today. This year, the campout was held in State College, PA to honor my great Uncle Milt's 100th birthday. For the first time we all stayed in hotels instead of camping due to shutdowns of campgrounds in PA because of budget cuts.

The cousins on my dad's side are a particularly intelligent and interesting (also eccentric) bunch of people who like to have fun in unconventional and nontraditional ways. Past campouts have included: Snipe hunts, crazy hat night, joke night, dance competitions and plenty of talking and reminiscing. The campout is called "Hammerson" because it is a combination of the two main last names of "Ham" and "Sanderson" (handmade flags were proudly displayed on each tent or camper and we wore shirts of a similar nature too). This year's campout was the biggest yet with a total of 27 people. It was fun to catch up with relatives I hadn't seen in forever but my favorite part was being able to spend time with my brother and his family and my sister.

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

The trek to PA

0 comments