Yeah, actually, do yourself a favor and concentrate as much as you can on the characters and and little as possible on the pinying. That's all I've got :-)
Hi Silvie, Thanks for the message. I'm in China at the minute, trying to learn a little Mandarin myself: any tips?
Hi :-) Welcome to the site. I know all about trying to stay sane during long travels; that was one of my reasons for joining this site too! I hope that it works out as well for you as it has for me. Hugs :-D Silvie