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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.

Singapore: Via Ferrata




It was our last day in Singapore and we spent it having a ton of fun. First we set off to one of the giant malls down town to do some climbing. While exploring earlier in the week, we had seen a promotion for 2 for 1 climbing because of Valentine's Day so Sean and I signed up for an indoor climbing session together.


We arrived expecting to do the typical partner climbing with someone belaying you so you can't fall. We had failed to realize that this was a different kind of climbing entirely - it was an activity called via ferrata that I had never heard of before.

Via ferrata is a type of climbing route up a wall or mountain using metal handles. This sounds (and looked) pretty easy, but the catch was that there was nobody belaying you, so you could potentially fall up to 10 feet. This made the activity terrifying. We climbed as partners with Sean as the lead climber and we had to pass about a 45 min. safety/training class before we could even start. By the time we had practiced everything, I wasn't really sure I wanted to attempt "via ferrata". Here's how Wikipedia describes it:

While via ferrata is similar to rock climbing the major difference is that the fall factor, which in climbing does not normally exceed two feet, can in via ferrata be much higher. These high factors are possible because the length of rope between harness and carabiner is short and fixed, while the distance the climber can fall depends on the gaps between anchor points for the safety cable.


We had to practice three different safety methods and ropes: looping ropes attached to each other to 'pigtails', transferring carabiners on our harnesses to wires along the route and snapping in to the rungs to rest if we needed a break. The indoor wall was the highest via ferrata in the world and to be honest I was really, really scared. I didn't look down the entire time because I knew it would be a little overwhelming. Midway up, Sean and I were both pouring sweat out of nerves and exertion, our arms and legs were shaking from poor technique and exhaustion and mentally I was spent. Our coach climbed up beside us the whole way on another climbing route and offered encouragement and advice while taking pictures. The sheer fact that I could fall and that I was completely responsible for myself that high on the wall was a new feeling and I found it hard to concentrate and trust the equipment. It was a really tough experience and took us about an hour to make it all the way up. I was definitely glad to be done and off the wall.



We rewarded ourselves with a Pizza Hut "Prosperity Pizza" for lunch and then went to see "Black Swan" in a refreshing air-conditioned theater. The whole week we had seen ads for the prosperity pizza because of the new year. During Chinese New Year businesses use anything related to future wealth, happiness, love and luck in the coming new year to get you into their store. The prosperity pizza is shaped like an old Chinese coin and it's a particularly lucky shape. Although the taste was extremely unusual: a tangy lime crust with cheese, bacon, french-fried onions and corn it was entertaining. I have no doubt it will help usher in an especially lucky year of the rabbit for us.

Read More 1 Comment | Posted by Sarah Sanderson edit post

1 Comment

  1. Daniel on March 18, 2011 at 5:47 AM

    I'm extremely jealous you got to have the prosperity pizza.

     


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    Sarah Sanderson
    I am currently in Mandarin language training as a new diplomat in the U.S. Foreign Service. Sean and I depart for Wuhan, China in November 2019 for my first tour in consular affairs.
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