Hi, my name is Mike Finstad and I have been living in Shanghai since October of 2010, which means I’ve been living in Shanghai for more than a year (if you didn’t already do the math yourself). I’ve done a lot of cool things and met very interesting people while living here, but I haven’t learned how to speak Chinese! Now, before you start cussing at your computer screen wondering why someone like me would move to China and NOT learn Chinese, let me just say that this neglect is going to end in 2012. As I mentioned in the ShanghaiExpat Newsletter, my New Year’s Resolution is to learn Chinese…this year. (PS – thank you to everyone who sent me emails with teacher recommendations and school suggestions!)

I thought it might be fun/interesting for some of you to read about my experience, in case you’ve ever been in my shoes. Over the coming weeks, check back on the blogs to find out about my progress, challenges, success and failures. If you have tips for learning, or questions (of a…ahem….family-oriented nature), ask them here. I’m going to need all the help I can get, but I’m looking forward to getting started after Chinese New Year! You can follow my column each week by checking back on our News feed (above), or you can check the archive below:

Man “Duh!” Rin

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