Before arriving in China, I had read lots of books about China. Therefore, when I arrived, I was excited to live in the country that is rich in history and culture. It was so greatly different from the UK. The food , the customs , the big cities and everyday life –I couldn't wait to explore （探索）.
However, learning Chinese hadn't even entered my mind, not because I was lazy, but because I had no confidence to learn such a difficult language. Besides this, once I moved to China and I lived in Shanghai. It is an International city, with many people speaking English as a second language. So I thought English would be sufficient.
But after a year in China. I found many expatriates (侨民) spoke Chinese. Perhaps it was achievable after all. I felt uncomfortable because so many Chinese people could speak English while I could n't even speak the most basic Chinese. To face the challenge, I decided to begin my language journey and my only regret is that I didn ' t start earlier.
In the two years. I have made great progress since starting to learn. Now, I am able to talk in Chinese on many topics. Learning to speak Chinese isn't as difficult as I once expected. When I speak to Chinese people in Chinese, they almost always understand me. The most challenging thing is listening since Chinese people talk at such a speed. I can't always understand what has been said. but my weekly online language exchange s help with this. Learning Chinese has taken a lot of hard work. But there is still a long way to go before I reach my goal of fluency.
Learning Chinese not only helps me in daily life, but deepens my cultural understanding of such a great country. So, to all my non - Chinese friends, I would say," Don't be afraid. face the challenge and be confident."
