36 days and counting...

Since my last post, I have actually accomplished quite a lot in preparing for my trip. In the hopes of helping out those who wish to follow in my footsteps, I will explain the different things that I have been doing.

1) My ticket has officially been purchased and is in my possession! It is a round-trip ticket with layovers, so the longest I should be in a plane at once is 12 to 13 hours in a Boeing 747. Now that my ticket is purchased, I feel a lot less apprehensive, because that was the single most expensive purchase of my trip.
2) I also now have my visa printed into my passport. This was a very quick process, and I was impressed. Now all that is left is for me to go to the office in China local in order to get my student visa processed, so I don't wind up being an illegal alien. :)
3) Another fun trip that I've done recently was one to the travel doctor - thankfully, I only had to get the typhoid shot, because some of the others were upwards of $400 per dose. I also have various prescriptions, including 10 TamiFlu and 1 "Z-Pac" (in case I get an upper-respiratory infection, haha). The travel doctor at Emory was extremely helpful, and I got an entire folder full of information from her. She also told me about this fruit/vegetable disinfectant solution (Pristine) that we can order so that we can buy food at the open air markets if we like.
4) Shopping. This was only fun for like 10 minutes. I have to buy enough of all the things I use to last me a good, long, while, and so the shopping carts have been quite piled. Apparently, any products that I use for my skin or health should be bought here, because they are made quite differently in China. I will have at least one full suitcase of OTC drugs, shampoo, conditioner, soaps, hand sanitizers, etc.

I think this is the gist of what I have been doing lately. I am getting very excited as I get closer and closer to my departure date. Keep checking back for updates!