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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.

Updates and jetlag

After over 30 hours of travel, Sean and I made it into Holland late Monday night pretty tired but happy to be back at home.  When we passed through LAX I was surprised once again by the huge amount of diversity as well as the sheer quantity of people.  While we could pop in and out of airports in New Zealand in a matter of minutes, we waited in various lines in L.A. for hours.

Our last real Kiwi meal in NZ - L&P and fish and chips complete with Watties Sauce


Here are some updates:

1.  We sold our car!  On Friday, our last paid day on the lot, and after putting on a new mirror and some damage control to the panels, Sean sold "Rosie" to two young Welsh guys anxious to get started on their own adventure.  She sold for exactly the same amount that we bought her for, which is crazy.  Oddly, because of the recent crash and the cash that the trucking company gave us, we ended up making money on the eighteen-year-old wagon.

2.  Sean was home in Holland for about 30 hours until I brought him to the airport once more this morning for a flight to Wyoming.  He will be gone for about two weeks to complete a WFR (wilderness first responder) course in Laramie, a requirement for his new job.  He arrives back home on Christmas Eve and then will have a few weeks of freedom in Holland before starting the actual position in late January.  More on that later.  As for me, it's back to substitute teaching for two months.  I will gladly accept any spare prescriptions of Xanax.  Seriously.

3.  Our joy about selling the station wagon was short-lived, however, when my 'check engine' light immediately went on in our little Honda back home.  Turns out some squirrels and mice had had a lot of fun in the engine while we were away and we pretty much just funneled money from one car right back into another one.  Cars are awesome.

4.  My friend Emily and I signed up for a month and a half of CrossFit - the latest rage in fitness.  If you're going to get fit, you might as well be trendy too, right?  Unlimited classes start this week and go all the way until the end of January.  I am both excited and nervous but am hoping the effort pays off as if all goes well (visa app/medical clearance etc.) I'll be on a beach at my placement in Brazil in about two months.

5.  Jet-lag is lame.  I can't sleep even though I'm tired and am ravenously hungry at odd points of the day and night.  In between attempting to sleep and eating breakfast foods for dinner, I just walk around like a zombie.

Waiting on the side of the road for the airport shuttle

Besides all of that, it feels great to be home.  The Christmas fir is up, the candles are in the windows and Mom is making honey-coated pretzels and giving out samples.  It doesn't get much better than this.
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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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    Grateful for my very tolerant, supportive and easygoing husband who's always game for a new adventure

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