I’m based in Toronto and started learning Chinese almost 15 years ago. I worked in finance and noticed that all the companies I dealt with were being outsourced to China or were sourcing from China so it seemed natural to start learning to speak Mandarin AND I’d just finished completing the dreaded Chartered Financial Analyst program so thought if I could pass that, how hard could it be to learn Mandarin?
I’ve never lived in China or had a large Chinese network so most of my learning has been virtual or with local tutors. I’ve tried almost every imaginable way to learn including watching TV, listening to radio/podcasts, reading in pinyin (hànyǔ pīnyīn 汉语拼音) , learning chinese characters (hànzì 汉字), studying for the HSK (汉语水平考试 Hànyǔ Shuǐpíng Kǎoshì), taking online chinese lessons, taking in person one-on-one and group lessons. You name it, I’ve tried it.
On this site I’ll share all my learnings over the years AND will keep you up-to-date on my chinese progress as I dive back into learning after a fairly long break (I tried to keep studying after having my first kid and found I just needed to let it go).
My goal is to be fluent …. one day! Maybe my learnings can help you!
Anyway, thanks for reading. Lets all take some encouragement on this tough journey and start off with the best Chinese phrase:
jiāyóu 加油
(literally “add oil” but really “let’s go!” or “you can do it!”)
Mr. Ni Hao 