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.

Universidade Estadual de Santa Cruz

Entrance to UESC

The university where we will be working is called the Universidade Estadual de Santa Cruz but most everybody here calls it "Wes-Ski" from its acronym, UESC. UESC is a well-known and fairly decent State university in Brazil. Most of the better universities in Brazil are federal ones which are currently on strike; the majority of the current Fulbrighters are at federal universities and will have an even longer time than usual getting started.

UESC has about 10,000 graduate and undergraduate students and is best known for its programs in biology and law. The departments that we work in are best translated as language arts and international relations. Loni and I will be teaching optional English classes for beginning, intermediate and advanced students of English. We will also be giving cultural talks/activities each month and working with the local public school teachers during their monthly inservices.

Each student at UESC is very happy to be there as there are limited spots available and tuition is free at the university level in Brazil. To gain a spot, each student has to pass a difficult and long test called the Vestibular. Like the Chinese Gaokao test, the Vestibular literally determines the course of life and the future success of the student. Our job is to help the students pass the similarly rigorous English tests required to study abroad and also to gain confidence speaking English in general.

Loni walking around our department

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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

Universidade Estadual de Santa Cruz

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