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kentsuarez -

Why? I love languages, and love really difficult challenges. So when I fell in love with a Sichuan

girl, that was the only added impetus necessary.

General background? Hispanic (Mexican-American), raised as "white" American, lived 1 yr. in

Madrid, 5 in Mexico, Spanish is 2nd language, then German, Mandarin, some Cantonese, and Thai.

Only fluent in English, Spanish and Mandarin. Unfinished PhD in Psychology. Serious interest in

Chinese paleography and etymology, calligraphy, handicrafts and DIY, art, culture, and Asian

tomboys. Still looking for a new one. Am 42, living in Taipei.

Claw -

1. Original reason: So that I am able to talk to the rest of my family. Current reason (though

   original reason still applies): I find Chinese grammar and comparative linguistics so

   interesting now that I have acquired the knowledge.

2. I was born in Hong Kong, and moved to the U.S. when I was very young, so my Chinese ability

   wasn't very good. I originally wanted to learn Cantonese (the dialect that the rest of my

   family speaks) when I got into college, but the class required that you take a year of Mandarin

   beforehand. So I took Mandarin for a year but then the professor who taught Cantonese went on

   sabbatical for two years so I never got the chance to take it. I found Mandarin interesting

   enough so I continued to take it for the next two years until I graduated from college. I

   learned Cantonese by myself on the side using my original Cantonese knowledge (I've always been

   able to listen but not speak very well) in conjunction with the new Mandarin and written

   Chinese knowledge I had acquired.

perjp -

1. It seemed like a good idea when I started out...

Actually, it's a long story involving what is basically a series of coincidences. I think it can

probably tracked back to a childhood involving too many Jackie Chan movies.

2. I'm a computer science major, when I finished my master's degree I wanted to try something

completely different, and ended up in Shanghai.

taibeihong -

Original reason: I wanted to learn a new and challenging language that'd be profitable career-wise

(I was studying International Relations) and, at college (in Mexico City), Japanese lessons were

full (and I figured there were too many people who already spoke good Japanese), Korean lessons

had too few students (which meant the course could be discontinued) and Chinese had few students

(giving me a competitive advantage) but enough to keep the course going.

Present reason: I studied Chinese in Beijing for two years, and worked in Shanghai for 7 months,

and I LOVED LIVING IN CHINA, and there's the possibility I'll move back, so I want to improve my

Chinese as much as I can to impress my boss and coworkers (who won't speak Chinese) and to enjoy

the friendship of Chinese people who are not necessarily comfortable speaking in English.

Background: Male, Mexican. When I started I was 23, still in college, and spoke advanced Russian,

English, German and Italian. Now I'm 31, a diplomat in Beirut, and speak good French and some

Lebanese Arabic, plus a bit of Shanghainese.

IVYtony -

wow, you guys anwers most are awesome! I like seeing that jumping like a garrila

IVYtony -

well, my reason:

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