A dose of my own medicine!

How exciting! Next month I'll be traveling to China to represent the university!! Yay!
OK now I'm scared.
Well, not really, but I'm beginning to feel the pressure to learn some Chinese and not look like a fool.
So for the next two months, I'll be blogging about my China experience--and let's hope this Culture Train doesn't derail!
What have I done so far to get ready:

• Said YES! to the adventure;
• Sent my passport to a visa agency;
• Purchased travel insurance through the university;
• Found an online site to learn some Chinese phrases before I go;
• Researched the city where I'm going.

Whew! Turns out the city is a port on a river--so there will be things it has in common with Mobile and New Orleans. Including the heat and humidity. Hmmmm....
Here's the Chinese video site I found--good simple videos explaining some of the basic structural elements of Chinese language:
http://www.clearchinese.com/video-lessons/index.htm
I don't think it's the grammar that's going to be a challenge, but rather the pronunciation. Everything sounds like "sher sher sher sher gwo gwo sher." Sorry, Chinese friends! I'll sort it out in the next few weeks.
Here's Changsha City:

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