@Yankee, I'm going to be kind and assume that you are putting us on! If you're serious, how about explaining what you mean by reasonable?
@HFCampo: Actually, I don't think learning to speak Chinese is EXTREMELY difficult, though of course it's more difficult for those with totally unrelated mother tongues. I'm not saying it's easy either - the tones seem to be more difficult for some people than others, for one thing - but certainly the grammatical hoops that one has to jump through for Indo-European languages, Semitic languages and many others are much more difficult to negotiate than those for Chinese grammar. I also think it's easier to learn to speak Chinese if one also learns to read, at least a little - although the written language is indeed perhaps the most difficult - still, some knowledge of it is helpful, and I mean for speaking, not just for reading.

Anyway, the choice should not be that of either setting out for complete Mastery or Nothing - I know 2-3 foreigners in Kunming who seem to have looked at the language in this manner years ago and chosen Nothing, and they are still pretty much in the same bubble of virtual isolation from their surroundings as they were 10 years ago - can't say 4 syllables in a row - though they've long ago lost most of their awareness of the great vastness of life outside the bubble from their consciousness and assumed that their short-hand generalizations of life outside are more or less accurate.

Capitalism means private ownership of the means of production, but what do you call it when it becomes private ownership of the means of existence?

In the future we are all going to be paying more for water, everywhere. If the species lasts awhile and keeps increasing in numbers, we'll be paying for air too, but that will take a little longer. We've already been paying for land for centuries, and already the sea seems to be in the process of being carved up (eg, the South China Sea).

Prices are a bit high, but they're in newchina yupland and seem to be getting quite a dinner crowd.
Beer prices are more or less okay - large Kirin 18 rmb - more beer taps for more draft beers on the way, presently just an expensive German draft.
Anyway, good folks.

@mPRin, yes, I've noticed that, I just automatically don't read them.
I think my computer is slightly screwy lately, should get somebody who understands it check it out - but I notice an awful lot of SORRY YOU CAN'T READ THIS notices when I try to download these days - how about you folks?