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.

Ultimate frisbee in Nanjing

Recently, Sean has been really active and into sports which can be difficult to find in a country obsessed with ping pong and badminton. Not only is he training for the Great Wall Marathon in Beijing on May 21 but he has been playing ultimate frisbee with the team in Shanghai. This means that every Saturday morning he leaves Changzhou really early to make it to the train station on time to take a train and then the subway to the fields. The trip in total takes about 3-4 hours. I think it's crazy but Sean loves frisbee and makes the commute without complaining.

Last weekend the Shanghai team invited Sean (he's wearing the blue shirt in the pics) to play in a tournament with them in Nanjing. The tournament was Saturday and Sunday and the other foreign teachers (Jorg, Marcus, Felix - Germans, and Jordan - American) decided to go and along to watch and enjoy the parties. I stayed behind to enjoy the girl time and work some extra hours. Saturday night I had all the ladies over for card games, wine, and the movie "Up" (Thanks Susie for sending it!).

From what I hear, the weekend was a ton of fun. Sean said that the guys on the team are a blast and he appreciated his personal crowd of spectators (they had never seen a game of ultimate frisbee in their lives and wanted to see what it was like). There were seven teams in all and Sean's Shanghai team got 3rd in the tournament. He was surprised that even though he was the newest member he won the "spirit" award, the only award given on the team. Good job Sean! The team also invited him to play on their competitive league which is Thursday nights in Shanghai. He is still considering whether it is worth the time and money to commit to this. In any case, the other foreigners are eager to learn about frisbee on campus and we are planning on playing some less competitive games of ultimate together one of these days - should be fun!

Read More 1 Comment | Posted by Sarah Sanderson

1 Comment

Clifford Magnus Larsen on April 30, 2011 at 4:44 PM

From Changzhou to Shanghai only for Ultimate? That's some commitment! I read an article about Dumplings on Beijing Review http://www.bjreview.com.cn/eye/txt/2011-03/13/content_342912.htm and then looked up your name plus CHINA on google and found your site. Great stuff. Contact us. I want to know how to get an article in the BJ Review.

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

Ultimate frisbee in Nanjing

1 Comment