As we finalized payment for the train tickets, there was a problem dealing with the Chinese agent, Dr. Hogan's picture had not uploaded properly, and the agent did not understand that ETSU email addresses can be written either someone@etsu.edu or someone@mail.etsu.edu, and was suspicious when she saw us using both forms.
Some of us worried we'd be traveling by Chinese donkey cart.
Misunderstandings like this are extremely common when we're dealing with China. Their system and ours do not align well, and even when agents speak English, they can misunderstand our cultural practices. But today we got word that the tickets had been approved. So no donkey carts.
Here's what a Chinese train ticket looks like:
