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.

Wintertime: the good and the bad

One of my favorite things about winter here is that it's acceptable to wear hats or 'beanies' all of the time. All of the staff at the ski lodge where hats constantly not only because it's cold but also because it means you can show up to work with greasy, unshowered hair and nobody knows or cares. Showering in winter is particularly torturous and painful here because of the lack of central heating.

Heat pump

This leads me to one of my least favorite things about winter in Queenstown - it's hard to get warm. Contrary to popular opinion about New Zealand being exceptionally green and eco-friendly, they rank very low concerning energy efficiency. Hardly any houses here have insulation and none have any kind of furnace or central heating. We stay warm with the occasional gas fireplace, small "heat pump" and wimpy electric heater. The Europeans and North Americans that arrive here are shocked at the housing conditions in wintertime. Every day Sean and I have to open our windows in the bedroom and bathroom to dry out all of the moisture that built up during the night and morning. Sleeping in a house here is basically like sleeping in a tent. The shoddy and hasty construction is said to be due to the fact that most of these houses were never intended to be anything other than holiday cottages which Kiwis call "baches" or "cribs." The Kiwis don't really complain about the cold or of the lack of heat/insulation rather they just tell you to buck up, make some tea and put on another sweater.

The other thing that is different about winter here when compared to Michigan is that they don't salt the roads to deal with the ice and snow. Instead they constantly put down sand and gravel because the salt is bad for the environment. This makes walking up and down steep hills here fairly treacherous. Some days the roads are closed entirely because it's simply too dangerous to drive on them without salt or enough plows. The snow is beautiful and fun to play in but am I anxious for spring? Definitely.

Read More 1 Comment | Posted by Sarah Sanderson

1 Comment

Linde on August 9, 2012 at 2:14 PM

One of our plant breeders from Australia is visiting FtCollins right now and said exactly the same thing about construction in Australia - that is is extremely energy inefficient although she is noticing it is starting to change with newer buildings.

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

Wintertime: the good and the bad

1 Comment