Anyone know mandarin?

Hey, just wondering if anyone here knew mandarin Chinese? I'm taking it in school now and it would be nice to have someone to practice talking to(besides the other kids that are learning in my class).

谢谢!

Whoa...the only mandarin i know is the round orange variety, so sorry if i'm crapping on your thread, but I'd really like to know WHY you're taking this language...
Do you have family history or planning an international business career, etc...
Just curious

This is my second year taking mandarin so i know how to say a few things. )

I actually took it way back in Grade 8, because I passed the french 8 exam before taking the class. It was fun, but hard, and I don't remember anything except "Ni hao ma" and "xie xie".

I can't really write/read the symbols, but I can hold a conversation. I can read pinyin though.

[quote62cb9e26ed="booklover1104"]Whoa...the only mandarin i know is the round orange variety, so sorry if i'm crapping on your thread, but I'd really like to know WHY you're taking this language...
Do you have family history or planning an international business career, etc...
Just curious[/quote62cb9e26ed]

Mandarin is a dialect of Chinese, spoken through out the majority of China and Taiwan(except in Hong Kong, where most speak Cantonese). Its the official language of the Peoples Republic of China and Taiwan, and also one the official languages in Singapore, and one of the six official languages of the United Nations. Its the #1 most spoken native language, and including those who speak two languages, its still the #1 most spoken language in the world(over 1000 million speakers). English is #2 with a bit over 900 million.

Pretty much, China has the most people in the world and thus has the largest market in the world, so just about any buisness related job could use someone proficient in Mandarin Chinese. Also, knowledge of Mandarin greatly bolsters your chances in getting a job in politics or government.

I'm not currently taking it, but I want to!

My only concern though is whether I could balance it with an engineering degree once I get into college. Do you think I could pull it off?