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.

Daily schedule

Working at the "bank" in "immigration" on opening day when families have to check in, get their passports stamped and exchange money

It was the first full day of camp today and whew it's exhausting. It's non-stop full-speed fun for hours at a time and I've never had to be in charge of anything quite like it. Today felt like it lasted years and it seems I never knew how much effort and attention small children truly require until now. Let me give you a taste - here is our official schedule:

Bom dia!
7:00 Be at cafeteria, help set table for breakfast, prepare the skit/presentations of culture and vocabulary of food for the day otherwise get campers ready for the day
7:30-8:30 Breakfast
8:30-9:30 First Portuguese class
9:30-10:30 First activity (this week I'm teaching sports: soccer, handball, badminton, and dodgeball)
10:30-11:00 Snack
11:00-12:00 Second Portuguese class
12:00-1:00 Lunch
1:00-2:00 Nap (for campers) Meeting with camp director and other Portuguese staff for us
2:00-3:00 Free time for campers (I work in the bank - campers can only take a limited amount of Euros out from their account daily to spend in the store)
3:00-4:00 Second activity (I'm teaching Brazilian cooking)
4:00-5:00 Singing and dancing (We teach some common songs and dances)
5:00-6:00 Dinner
6:00-6:30 Break
6:30-7:30 Night program
7:30-8:30 "Telenovela" (We act out a Brazilian soap opera in Portuguese)
8:30-9:30 Get ready for bed and lights out (One counselor stays in the cabin while the other goes back to the office to prepare class/activities for the next day)

Campers checking out some eagles that keep flying by

In some ways, the schedule feels like graduate school because we never really get to stop because we always have to plan the next activity, game, class, program or show. Also, it involves a lot of teamwork and using each others' materials all while working in a giant shared office with snacks, music and general craziness. Unfortunately, it is also going to involve a lot of late nights and little sleep not only because there is so much to do and not enough people but also because we all really care about what we are doing and want to make it funny and creative while also being effective in teaching language and culture. So far, camp has involved a lot of improvisation, singing/dancing/acting in front of crowds and teaching about things that I really know nothing about in Portuguese or in English (ahem Handball). Though the constant improv and comedy aren't really my thing, I'm enjoying learning a lot of new games and teaching methods along with experiencing a lot about child development. What do I love about camp? Being in a beautiful and rustic environment, eating amazing food (and not have to prepare it or clean it up), taking showers only occasionally, not having to care what I wear and being around people who are ridiculously passionate (borderline obsessive) about teaching language and culture. It's been quite the experience so far, and it's only Day One.

Playing games during the night program

Getting the campfire ready

Read More 0 comments | Posted by Sarah Sanderson

Job description for summer camp: a little bit of everything

Some counselors in awe of the sunset over Cass Lake

This summer I'll be mostly working as a credit teacher of Portuguese for adults and children along with being a cabin counselor but I quickly realized that being staff at camp involves a little bit of everything. So far everyone on the Portuguese crew has done a lot of cleaning, moving, organizing, cooking, driving, singing, dancing, translating, decorating, acting, housekeeping and more cleaning. What makes it fun is that everything is in Portuguese along with the fact that everyone on staff really wants to be here - some of them are even volunteering their time. I don't think I've been part of a group this creative, hardworking, eager to help and interested in language and cultural differences before so even the most mundane of tasks is made a lot more bearable by simply hanging out with fun people.

Celebrating Any's birthday today!

One of the new friends I've made is Any, 29, from Brazil. She is in the United States for the first time and can't speak any English. She is adorable and over the moon with happiness about having the opportunity to be in the States. Yesterday, we had our first day off and I took her into town. It was fascinating to spend the day with her and see what she wanted to do and what she thought was funny about the U.S. We ate at Applebees and she was super excited as Applebees is very expensive in Brazil and she had never been there before. Then we spent about 3 hours in Walmart where she could barely contain herself because of the fact that it contained everything and that it was super cheap. She ended up buying another suitcase because of all the things she wanted to take back to Brazil (shampoo, makeup, clothes, baby clothes (she's pregnant with her first), nail polish, sheets, towels...) It was so fun to share in her excitement! Other highlights included the dollar store, a sports store and dinner at HarDees (there's not a lot to offer in a tiny northern Minnesota town). She wanted to stop and take pictures of a trailer park (she had no idea what it was), a giant sculpture of Paul Bunyan and Babe the Blue Ox and symbols that she saw everywhere like the state sports teams, bald eagles and American flags.

Tomorrow camp officially camps and we have our first week of Family Camp. There are three families signed up and everyone is really excited. Some of the activities we are offering, besides Portuguese classes are: archery, canoeing, soccer, arts and crafts, Brazilian ju jitsu, dancing, singing, theatre, swimming, cooking class and nightly bonfire culture programs (all in Portuguese). The challenge for me has been trying to learn all of the technical words for activities in Portuguese i.e. what are the words that I need to know to teach someone how to canoe in another language? The challenge for the Brazilians has been trying to learn as many English words as they can if questions come up and nobody is around to translate. It's kind of crazy, a little intense but a lot of fun. I'll keep you posted on how it goes after the families go through "immigration" tomorrow, get their visas, change their money and get a new name in Portuguese. Game on.

Read More 0 comments | Posted by Sarah Sanderson

Grandma steps into Glory

Grandma reading poetry to the whole family at her 90th birthday party

The entire Hendriksma clan

My birth grandma, Hilda Hendriksma, passed away last Monday morning and I was very sad not to have been able to celebrate her life at the funeral with the whole family. Grandma Hilda was particularly special to me for many reasons. She was the only grandparent that I really got to know because my other grandparents passed away before I was old enough to really know them. She was also special because she was my birth grandma and became my main link to my birth family and their history. She lived to be 91 and the last time I spent with her was during the previous weekend when we sat outside soaking up the sun in the garden at the nursing home. That day she was sharper and happier than I had seen her in months and it never occurred to me that that would be the last time I'd get to spend with her.

Grandma's children - my birth mom, Ellie is the third from the left

Grandma Hilda was not the kind of woman you meet every day. She raised eight children plus a few foster kids, helped manage a large dairy farm even though she confessed to being really afraid of the big cows and was part of a prison ministry program for some time by corresponding with those who were incarcerated and wanted to study the Bible. She had an incredible memory for poetry and hymns and was an avid reader. She kept a journal for most of her life and the parts she's read to me always has funny comments about the weather and the food.

Ade and Hilda

She was a strong and amazing woman with a big heart to serve such a large family. I'm grateful that I was able to know her for as long as I did. Grandma, I'll miss you and I hope you'll be proud of all that I have left to do in my time here on earth while you're in heaven watching over us all.

This is my favorite picture of Grandpa and Grandma

Read More 2 comments | Posted by Sarah Sanderson

Hero worship

Did you ever go to camp? Or how about a mission trip led by older students? I went to “Wilderness Camp” and I remember my counselors perfectly because I worshipped them as real life heroes. I noticed all the things that they wore, said and did and I tried to imitate them as best as I could. It was very easy to pick out the especially cool counselors. You know the type – they knew how to wear their bandanas the right way, they had arms full of colorful and crazy bracelets, they played the guitar and above all they were extremely confident and extroverted which was both fascinating and terrifying to a shy camper like I was.

Granted, language camp is a little different. Most of the counselors are older and are some sort of educator in their “real” job. Most of them are not from the U.S. and many of them can’t even speak English. In addition, the campers who attend CLV are more than likely the type of youth who are a little different anyways and are probably trying to avoid mainstream coolness what with its trendy bandanas and bracelets. As we’ve been studying about how to teach to and relate with people of all ages this week, I’ve been thinking a lot about what it was like to be a camper myself and I remember that I just wanted to be noticed, valued and heard but I didn’t know how to make that happen or if I did, I was afraid to try. I wanted someone to take the time to get to know me and think that I was special just for what I had to say and who I was.

One of the parts of my staff handbook particularly stood out and made me laugh, “For villagers, health includes reasonable cleanliness, enough sleep, time to poop, and a counselor who hears what the villager is really saying.” We also learned to apply the acronym WAIT (Why Am I Talking?) as much as possible as a reminder that it’s not about us. One of my goals this summer is to be patient and listen so that I can really get to know the villagers and make them feel valued and special – something that I wish my own counselors would have done more of.

Participating in such a large and diverse orientation is awesome but it does come with its own intimidation factors and kind of feels like being a camper all over again. I planned a lesson today with a Brazilian computational linguist who’s just here between working on new and different models for GoogleTranslate and I was in an afternoon discussion with a Venezuelan artist who does set design, costumes and makeup for one of the most famous soap operas (telenovelas) in South America. So much of camp is outside of my comfort zone even as an adult as there is a huge amount of acting in silly dramas, singing, dancing, speaking a language other than English in front of a large group of people and writing chants and songs as a team. It’s easy to feel insecure and inadequate about what we each have to offer.

I felt the same way when I started teaching at Ohio State and the first two weeks of teaching every day were some of the worst of my life. But eventually, after much struggle, I learned that I could be a successful teacher just by being the best at who I am. In short, I learned that all kinds of teachers and counselors are needed. Since I was a quieter student growing up, though I liked the funny and entertaining teachers, I really loved and valued the ones who were a little more serious and who actually made time for me. While teaching at OSU, I learned that students can feel true authenticity and can ultimately sense if you really care or not – it didn’t matter if I was funny or cool. Similarly, with Girls on the Run, though I wasn’t able to connect with all of the girls, I had some particularly strong relationships with a few of them.

Campers arrive on Monday and during all of the preparation and planning I’m trying to remember those lessons in order to not feel too overwhelmed. One of the most important things is to truly care – to mean it and to show it. The other thought is that while I can’t be everything for all the villagers, I can mean something for some of them – truly it takes a village. This summer, I’m excited that I’ll be in a village where everyone speaks this same language.

Read More 0 comments | Posted by Sarah Sanderson

The place where speaking English is uncool

I reached camp after two days of driving and plenty of detours because of construction. Camp Minne-Wa-Kan, an ex-Lutheran bible camp, sits at the edge of Cass Lake in northern Minnesota and is only accessible by about five miles of dirt roads. It feels like stepping back in time and the setting is idyllic: old wooden bunkhouses, a chapel, a fire pit with a half moon of plywood benches and nothing to see but woods and water for miles. It’s the kind of camp that maybe we’ve read about or, if we’re lucky, experienced in our childhood but is nowadays becoming more and more difficult to find.

I arrived for MVO (that’s camp-speak for “Multi-Village Orientation) in the evening and was welcomed by an older Chinese professor who legitimately could not (or would not) speak English with me. She pointed me to check-in along with a tray of hot cinnamon scones and milk which was smack in the fray of counselors, deans, teachers, activity leaders etc. speaking Spanish, Portuguese, Danish, Finnish, Swedish, Japanese, Chinese, German, French, Arabic, Italian, Norwegian, Korean and Russian. Think about the language nerds in your high school Spanish class and multiply them by fifteen languages and countless different countries and you have a taste of what the cafeteria felt like. Being an American, I was in the minority and it was one of the only times where it was obvious that speaking English was decidedly uncool. It was as if the United Nations had descended onto Garrison Keillor’s Lake Wobegon. In other words, it was my kind of paradise.

We spent the first full day of orientation in large group meetings talking about health and safety, the basics of teaching language, the mission of the camp (to prepare young people for responsible citizenship in a global community along with fluency in another language) and logistics. Returning staff never miss a chance to point out teachable moments and occasionally pretend that we are villagers so we can see how things are handled. During our IVOs (Individual Village Orientation) when we meet with the other Portuguese staff, we played get-to-know-you games and learned a LOT of different dances. Staff from other villages only communicate with us in their language, which is both frustrating and hilarious. It’s a good reminder of what future students will feel like if they can’t understand and have no idea what is going on. Other highlights of the day included getting our staff T-shirts and jackets and making our name tags.

We ended the day around the campfire with the Chinese village staff leading us in stories, dance and song. They finished by teaching us a song in Mandarin which we sang in three-part harmony while the lake glowed pink from the sunset and the breeze made the fire blaze. With multiple nations singing in unison in a language foreign to them in such an intimate setting, it felt quite possible that we had achieved a real Kum-ba-yah moment despite all of our differences. I thought, “I could get used to this” along with “This isn’t so bad” and “I can definitely handle this for six weeks” until I remembered with a nagging feeling that, oh yeah, the actual campers hadn’t arrived yet.

Read More 2 comments | Posted by Sarah Sanderson

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

Daily schedule

Job description for summer camp: a little bit of everything

Grandma steps into Glory

Hero worship

The place where speaking English is uncool

Wanderlust

In Mandarin: 旅遊癮 (lǚyóu yǐn)

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