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.

Qin Chen's house

After the wedding, Qin Chen, her parents, Sean and I took a taxi to Qin Chen's house where she grew up in the country in a small town called Qu Tang.

It was really neat to be able to see the house where our friend grew up. There is definitely a big difference between the small, quiet, rural town of Qu Tang and the crazy, bustling, modern, urban jungle that is Changzhou.

When I asked Qin Chen which she preferred, I totally thought she was going to say that she would rather live in the city. But instead she said she preferred life in the country because it was "more simple and quiet."

Qin Chen gave us a tour and we saw the traditional kitchen and rustic bathroom (she wouldn't let me take a picture because she was too embarrassed) which was basically a cement hole in a separate building in the back of the house. The dining/living room was at the center with bedrooms on either side. The beds were really high with mosquito netting on all sides. Qin Chen said I could use the chamber pot at night if I had to go instead of venturing out by myself in the pitch black and I was definitely glad she showed it to me because I totally put it to good use.

Before we cashed in, we looked at pictures on her computer and sampled some of her dad's homemade alcohol - basically a mixture of bai jiu, herbs, roots, spices, berries . . . and many other things I can't really identify. He swore that it has cured neighbors of illnesses but just one sip almost knocked me out!

We got up at the rooster-crowing time of 5:30 am so we could eat at Qin Chen's favorite breakfast place in her hometown - a dumpling soup shop. After some tasty hot bowls, we got on our bus at 7am for a 3 hour ride back to Changzhou. It was quite a trip!

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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

Qin Chen's house

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