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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.

Going hashing

As I’ve been meeting new people who work at the embassy and getting to know the Mozambican students who frequent the American Culture Center, I’ve been surprised at how many people recommend going “hashing.” At first I was confused about what everyone was talking about, but after a little research I learned that the “Hash House Harriers” is an international social club that runs and drinks together. There are hash clubs all over the world and the club in Maputo is alive and thriving. The club is also known by its slogan that it’s a “drinking club with a running problem.”


The Maputo Hash House Harriers or H3 meets on Saturday at 2:30 on one of the main avenues of embassies in the city. I decided to go and dragged a similarly introverted roommate with me to experience the weirdness that I had been warned about. Other colleagues had cautioned me that the hash isn’t for everyone and that the group can be obnoxious and raunchy at times so I was a bit apprehensive and didn’t want to go alone.


We showed up at the meet-up spot, paid our 80 meticais (“hash cash” - about $1.50) and waited for the event to begin. The shenanigans started shortly after with an introduction of the “hares” – the members who were selected to set out that week’s trail in a secret location using flower and chalk. The rest of us were the hounds tasked with following the trail and eventually finding the hare. The hares wore red shirts and the hounds wore anything from normal running clothes to strange and funny costumes. After giving directions to the hash location, we carpooled to the site and everyone started running around looking for the start of the trail. What’s interesting about hashing is that it’s completely noncompetitive and set up to be social and inclusive. One way that this is accomplished is by making false trails and tricks that force the faster runners to run more to investigate while allowing slower runners to catch up. There are also several check points (some with beer) along the way to make sure nobody is lost.

Besides the drinking, socializing and exercising, the main draw of this activity seems to be the goofy rituals and traditions that everyone follows. For instance, every member has a special hash name that has to be given to you and is only given after showing commitment to the club. Names are usually embarrassing and can be inappropriate, which also reflects the flavor of the sport. During this hash, I ran with “Swiss Pimp” and “Lip Service” – an intern from the Swiss embassy and one from the Canadian embassy who quickly got me up to date on all things Hash. Other members included an extremely diverse mix of nationalities, ages and even families along for the run or hike (there are separate tracks for each).



After the hash, everyone returned to the “hash house” for speeches, awards, general banter, initiation, songs and chants which were all led by the “hashmaster.” Since it was my first time at a hash, I had to answer some horrifyingly embarrassing questions about myself in front of everyone and then chug a beer. That part is still giving me nightmares, but the rest of the evening was fun. To be honest, going hashing was exactly what everyone predicted: an evening jogging outside of the city with lots of opportunities to drink and socialize while at the same time being slightly inappropriate and entertaining. I’ve already looked up hashing clubs in Tokyo and I’m happy to report that there are several to choose from! I wonder if Sean will be up for it?
Read More 2 comments | Posted by Sarah Sanderson edit post

2 comments

  1. Linde on July 11, 2016 at 1:22 PM

    Sounds like a blast!

     
  2. Anonymous on November 7, 2024 at 8:44 AM

    OnOn

     


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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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