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.

600 Posts

When I was on Blogger today I noticed that I had reached 600 posts so I thought I would do a little recap and take a look back at my blogging journey thus far. I never planned to be a blogger and I still don't really think of myself as one. I like to document both visually and with words what I'm experiencing whether in Holland, Michigan or in Ilhéus, Bahia mainly for therapeutic reasons and also simply just to remember and record. Most of the time I forget that anyone else besides me (and Mom and Dad of course) actually read it which is both a liberating feeling and also rather naive. I am reminded of this fact when I receive emails from random strangers all over the world which run the gamut from being inspiring, creepy, funny, interesting or just random spam.

Right before I started this blog in Santiago, Chile, I had no idea what a blog was. I was a few years older than the other CIEE study abroad students and was envious that they were already using mysterious devices like Flash Drives and there was talk of something called Facebook. I did not use either of those two things, but I was curious as to how my peers were spending such insane amounts of time on the computer. One of them took the time one day to show me his "blog." He explained that it stood for "web log" and acted as a public online diary for his friends and family to see while he was abroad. I was immediately intrigued and asked him to help me set up my own that same day. Six hundred posts later I like blogging even more than when I started and hope to keep going at least for awhile yet.

Here's some interesting statistics that Blogger provides related to page hits and popularity:

Currently there are 464 published comments on the blog
So far I've made a whopping $66.92 using Google AdSense (since when I started in 2009). Looks like I don't get to quit my day job to blog anytime soon.
My total view count for the blog to date is 128877
The most popular post by far was the one about "Matching Couples T-Shirts." I've even seen my pictures on that particular post show up on other blogs about lookalike couples as well.
Most people stumble on the blog simply by searching for key words on Google
My first post was written on February 2, 2006 when I was studying abroad in Chile. Quite a bit has changed since then!

One of the most fun (and addictive) parts of blogging is that you get to know other writers in the online community. I really enjoy following other friends and family; it's particularly special when I'm far away from home. Thanks to anyone who reads the blog - I always appreciate the support and comments. Please let me know if you write too as I'd like to follow your adventures as well! My future goal for blogging - to try and get Sean to write at least one "guest post." Here's hoping!

Read More 1 Comment | Posted by Sarah Sanderson

1 Comment

Anonymous on March 16, 2013 at 7:24 PM

Congratulations on 600 posts! Keep up your GREAT work! We love you...Jenny and Steve

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

600 Posts

1 Comment