Starting a high intermediate/advanced class in Beijing

[amandagmu]

Ok, so I'm getting tired of the same old one-on-one in Beijing. It's not fun and I'm not learning anything from my mostly-boring teachers. Also, I learn better with some interaction with a few classmates. I have a reputable place (the Culture Yard) that's willing to put together more advanced classes. I have some potential teachers or ideas for finding them (working with the people at the CY to determine who and how and when etc).

My idea: We can do a news media or pop culture or history or whatever we want. The price won't be too high. Think of it as a supplement to all the other stuff you're doing daily in Chinese (in my case, research) but in a setting with other speakers around your level. It won't be intense, such as homework or whatever, but maybe we can pick some subjects and suggest them to the teacher in advance, or maybe we can all read up on the same subject and come prepared. Maybe each week one of us could prepare something short in Chinese and read it for discussion (I would be willing to do it with my research, for practice, of some stuff I need to do "live" in June/July).

The summary:

Anyways, a lot is up in the air, but I'd love to get something going at the high intermediate->advanced levels, especially now that we're reaching the summer months. I'd prefer doing it once or twice a week (max) mornings 8ish-10ish or evenings after 6 (maybe 7ish-9ish). Not sure about weekend time, but I'd be willing to ask them if other people want to do it then. I don't want to do midday during the week. CY is located off line 5 near Beixinqiao behind Guijie, a convenient central location no matter where you're working or living in BJ. The atmosphere is relaxed, with tea/coffee, couches and possibilities for A/V.

Anyone else interested? If so, do you want to meet in advance somewhere and discuss ideas????