Yes- I may be biased but it is really difficult. The tones are killer- and the Chinese people don't seem to be very tolerant of a slight tone deafness.
I have been doing a language exchange and try to use my Chinese as often as possible. If you don't use it- it goes away. And every time I build up a little bit of confidence I inevitably have to take a cab and my spirit is crushed. Let me set the scene for you:
It's 11pm at night, I'm returning home from Rugby practice and have to travel the entire length of the city. I stick out my hand and quickly a cab comes over.
Cab Driver: Ni Hao (Hi!)
Anna: Ni Hao. Wo yao qu Suzhoujie ditie. (Hi! I want to go to the Suzhojie subway stop.)
Cab Driver: ::very confused:: Su---zhou----jie.... suzhoujie, suzhoujie....ni yao qu suzhoujie ditie? (I don't know seem to know suzhoujie....let me repeat it. You SURE you want to go the the suzhoujie subway stop?)
Anna: Shi de! (yes!)
Cab Driver: Suzhoujie? (I still am not sure where you need to go....let me repeat the name to you)
Anna: Suzhoujie! (At this point I'm in crises- I assume I must be saying the tones wrong I start to doubt myself. I start trying to repeat in my head- this time with different tones.) Su-zhou-jie! Su-zhou-jie! Suuu-zhoooou-jiiieeee!
Cab Driver: Su-zhou-jie? (I've known where you want to go- I'm going to repeat it one more time just to mess with you)
Anna: Shi de! (YES!)
---End Scene----
What I'm trying to get at here is that every time you start feeling good about having mastered some Mandarin, inevitably there is a Cab Driver out there to make sure you feel like you don't know jack.
The icing on the cake was that about a week ago a cab driver took me for a ride- a 20RMB more expensive ride then it should have been and I was helpless to tell him that: A. I knew we was GOING the LONG WAY and B. I didn't want to pay that much. But there wasn't much I could do about it.
But- as easy as it is to get discouraged- you have to keep trying. Or else ya know, you'll never get a cab ride home.
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