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.

Got lamb?

It's fun to visit McDonalds in different places because they offer different items on the menu based on the local tastes and types of food available. In Chile, McDonalds had cheese empanadas, in China there were sweet bean pies and strange tangy sauces on burgers and in South Korea we tried the green tea McFlurry. New Zealand has its own range of fast food items in signature Kiwi style. L&P, the national soft drink, is always on tap as a liquid or frozen refreshment and there are oddly-named McFlurries - bubblegum squash anyone?

The most recent McDonalds promotions have featured a lamb burger with all the trimmings Kiwis like including egg, beet root, and the deliciously addictive aoli sauce. Sean was jonesing to try the lamb burger the other day so off to McDonalds we went. Our cashier was a plucky young trainee hailing from Fiji. A large button on his polo read, "Got Lamb?" I asked him if he had tried the famed lamb burger and he said he had and added that it was 'really good.'

Sean ordered the whole Kiwi shebang - a lamb burger meal complete with a frozen L&P. After taking a few bites he pronounced it tasty and interesting but probably not something he would order again. Maybe beet root on your burger is an acquired taste.

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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

Got lamb?

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