just arrived back from year in China, what now?

[andrewreis]

any suggestions on seriously maintaining my Chinese?

of course i will try and find some Chinese friends.

i was thinking of a part time job that would require my chinese speaking skills.

I am at HSK 7 and speaking wise pretty good (relative to Koreans who get HSK7).

i love to speak to the local taxi drivers (most of whom can speak mandarin) they all say i need to find a chinese girlfriend, gotta love them.

ps im from australia

(gday)

[Shi Tong]

gday mate,

I think all of the above suggestions are a good idea (even the girlfriend idea!! ). It may be a good idea to see if you can find events, clubs, or even websites where Mandarin speakers tend to hang out.

I know that I've been to several festival events designed for the Chinese/ Taiwanese community for days like New Year or Moon Festival, I just get chatting to the stall holders etc and see if there's anyone else to chat to.

If you can find a Chinese or Mandarin speaking friend, they may already know about these events and you can get involved!!

[imron]

The interwebs are an amazing thing. Streaming radio, tv, newspapers, podcasts, Skype - it's trivial to create a language environment for yourself. On the job front, I regularly see help-wanted signs written in Chinese and posted in the window of shops run by Chinese people, and from time to time I toy with the idea of applying just for the fun of it, but I don't really have the time.

Where in Australia are you? There are various Chinese language meetup groups in bigger cities.

[renzhe]

Yeah, Mandarin-language discussion groups (there is one in Melbourne) are a good idea, having a couple of Chinese-speaking friends is another one.

In terms of listening, it's so easy to get all the latest TV shows online, make sure you check this out.

[andrewreis]

i'm in Sydney.

actually my friend today mentioned something named "meet-up" ill look into that.

yeah i think i have to force myself into watching some hectic Chinese drama.

i just got an email form the Chinese society at my uni. looks like opportunities are starting to pry themselves open!

i was considering throwing myself at the local Chinese newspapers and asking to be placed in a role specifically to benefit my Chinese and I would work for whatever pay they deem fair. anybody had similar work experience?.. i don't want to be selling 'cha sew fan' for 8 hours a day.

[xiaotao]

Chinese church is a great place to get a dose of Chinese. Folks who attend Chinese service do so because they need to hear it in their language. You have to find people who don't speak English to practice Chinese.