I love Gi's. I haven't gone without one for like 6 months, I have little interest in doing no-gi training atm.
You'll get the hang of it fast. One thing is never put your fingers inside the cuffs of the sleeves or the pants or your or your opponents gi. you grab the outside of the sleeve at all times. If you put your fingers up the sleeve to grab, you'll end up getting the gi twisted around and breaking your fingers. (trust me, I *know* what I am saying
)
ummm, when I start rolling ususally first thing I do is grab the other guys lapels around the chest area and pull his gi out of his belt.
Wash your Gi at least every 6 hours of training. I have 2 gi's, I wear then 2 days each then wash them both.
The gi will make you better in all areas. If you train with a Gi constantly, when you take it off, you'll feel like you just jumped a whole level.