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.

!st anniversary (of the hotel)

This past week our hotel had a big party to celebrate being open for a full year. They made a really big deal out of the anniversary and had the one year birthday party at a fancy bar in town and all the employees were invited. The theme of the party was "Monte Carlo" and cocktail apparel was required - everyone was pretty pumped leading up to the event.

So on the night of the 14th Sean put on a tie and I put on the only dress I brought with me and we headed into town. We were greeted at the door of the party by the HR boss who was holding a tray of champagne flutes filled with blue bubbly. Why was it blue you ask? To celebrate the "blue energy" - our hotel's approach to "employee engagement" - that it prides itself on.

During the party we all got three free drink tokens and lots and lots of fancy good food. They had people walking around with trays of appetizers like stuffed mushrooms, shrimp kabobs, little lamb steaks, chicken skewers and tables of cheeses, meats, fruits and crackers. I was very glad that I hadn't eaten dinner beforehand.

It was fun to see everyone dressed up and out of uniform - especially the housekeepers - we killed it!

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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

!st anniversary (of the hotel)

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