Farewell party #1 with some of my favorite people who I've met here |
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.
Naturally, the weather these past few weeks has been perfect - sunny and in the 70s with a slight breeze. I've been avoiding other graduate students because they inevitably say that they're finished and already handed it in, which is not at all helpful. Interestingly, absolutely everything besides sitting down to write has become instantly more attractive and I look forward to doing things like cleaning, cooking, laundry and dishes, it's absurd. The process feels like trying to eat an elephant with a fork and makes me think of Ann Lamont's book/story, Bird by Bird: Some Instructions on Writing and Life, one of my favorite books of all time:
"Thirty years ago my older brother, who was ten years old at the time, was trying to get a report on birds written that he'd had three months to write. [It] was due the next day. We were out at our family cabin in Bolinas, and he was at the kitchen table close to tears, surrounded by binder paper and pencils and unopened books on birds, immobilized by the hugeness of the task ahead. Then my father sat down beside him, put his arm around my brother's shoulder, and said. 'Bird by bird, buddy. Just take it bird by bird.'"
So, with the windows open and with all my avian friends chirping away and having the time of their lives in the gorgeous springtime weather, I'm going to stop writing this blog post and start taking it bird by bird.
Also, these memes have helped:
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'.
About Me
- 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.
Sarah and Sean
On Language Learning
Disclaimer
Blogs I follow
-
6 days ago
-
2 weeks ago
-
2 years ago
-
3 years ago
-
5 years ago
-
6 years ago
-
6 years ago
-
7 years ago
-
8 years ago
-
8 years ago
-
-
9 years ago
-
9 years ago
Wanderlust
Blog Archive
Followers
Popular Posts
-
One of the first things that caught my attention upon arriving in China was the amount of couples wearing matching shirts - they were ever...
-
What does Sean do? Room service at the Hilton, that's what. Except that at the Hilton you can't call it Room Service but rather &qu...
-
Today (Monday) is a national holiday in China and as I write this, fireworks are going off and everyone is happy (including me) that we don&...
-
Somewhere along the orientation process I missed the fact that for one day a week I have to work a double shift. This is because this hotel...
-
Before heading to Cambodia the next day, Sean and I spent one last night exploring Khao San Road in Bangkok. While we had been staying in t...
-
Yesterday, when I was teaching at my part-time job, a girl walked in to my class wearing sunglasses even though it was 8:00 in the evening. ...
-
If you read the title of this post and thought, "What's a Conchord?" you would not be alone - I had similar questions when I f...
-
Our first full day in Siem Reap we decided to take it easy and explore some of the surrounding area before we tackled the main tourist draw,...
-
When I first told people that Sean and I were going to try and make it to Cambodia during winter break, many of them said that we absolutely...
-
I must admit, I am having a blast working with these culture classes. It is especially fun because David, the new teacher has taken over m...
Total Pageviews
Search
© Copyright
Wanderlust
. All rights reserved.
Designed by FTL
Wordpress Themes
| Bloggerized by
FalconHive.com
brought to you by
Smashing Magazine