Visa confusion?

Well, it's approximately T-minus one month until I leave home for Beijing. Right now my main concern is my student visa, which as of late has caused me some confusion. Getting a visa is tricky because you have to go to the Chinese Consulate in NYC, and that's pretty far from here. You have to go in person or send someone in person for you for security reasons. Now hopefully I can send a certified Visa Agent in my stead, but I need to check with the consulate first since they have a notice saying something about not using messengers. I think by messengers they mean just that, and aren't talking about Visa Agents, whose job is to appear in person for the applicant. I should be getting all the necessary documentation from TBC this week, and I will immediately send for my visa, one way or another. I want to get everything essential done ASAP because you just never know at this time of year how long things are going to take. Plus, with the upcoming Olympics, I wonder if visas are in high demand yet, but it may still be too early. I hear a lot of kids going to other countries don't need visas, and that seems really odd, considering the security of the current day. I have to take all these little obstacles in stride though, because I'M GOING TO CHINA and that makes it all very much worth the effort and worry.
Meanwhile, I am clamoring to purchase everything I need for China that is from the Internet so that it will arrive in time. I still don't know the titles of a few of my textbooks, and that is making me nervous. In fact, I just found out a few titles only a day or two ago, but I ordered them right away. I hope all these books don't weigh too much, considering they are a part of my 100lbs or less of luggage that I will be taking. I never thought I'd see the day where I could fit a semester's worth of clothing into a suitcase...the thought is foreign and absurd to me. And normally I bring a ton of shoes with me to school, but I'm only bringing the ones on my feet and a pair of ballet flats for dressier occasions... Me with only two pairs of shoes? It sounds unreal for sure.
I have been talking to Dr. Jane Fisher a lot recently, and she has proved an invaluable source of information about China and Beijing because she has been there several times. She loves Chinese culture and knows a lot more about travelling to China than anyone else I've yet encountered. She always has the best advice for me, such as when she told me that I should bring all the bras that I will need while abroad because the ones available there will be very much too small for me. I love talking to her because she, like me, has a great sense of humor about these things. I can't wait to laugh off all of the cultural faux pas that I will undoubtedly commit. I'm excited because even the chance to make these faux pas in China is a big deal for me - this is my first anthropological endeavor, so to speak. I want to meet everybody and talk to them about their lives. I want to know China and its people. I want to spend time in places and with people who are very different than me, and who can teach me valuable cultural lessons through experience.
I can't wait to take pictures of everything I see! I want to know EVERYTHING, especially that which seems mundane. I want to go to the supermarket and the post office. I want to see what kinds of shampoo and toothpaste the Chinese use. I want to learn the language (desperately) even though I'm a bit intimidated at the moment...I have no idea how I will be able to learn to write in Chinese, it's so complex. I want to do as the Chinese do, even though it may at times be very different than what I am accustom to. The only way I will grow as a student of anthropology is if I am willing to learn as much as I can about the Chinese. I must resign myself to say goodbye to my beloved American fork...and embrace chopsticks. I must try to speak in Chinese as much as possible while I am there, under the guidance of native speakers. I must avoid spending all of my time with other American students - I am not there to make American friends, after all. I must not be afraid to ask for help, but I must not be afraid to try new things.

But most importantly at the moment, I must first finish this semester before I get too excited about the next. More to come about my pre-departure experiences after the madness of final papers and exams subsides.