wanting to start work.... get a local girlfriend?

So I've been spending some time recently with the Shanghai branch of my consulting company Capgemini. It seems they should be happy to take me on, except for some issues around language - given that most/many of their current clients are state owned enterprises (SOEs). Their having SOE clients is good for me in the sense of pure immersion - that's the experience I was hoping to get. I was in a way fearing being assigned to english speaking clients such as Shell, and then actually not getting the real deal. But this means that I have a language problem - 100% chinese.... no english for technical terminology... chinese emails, chinese meetings, chinese faxes.... oh dear! Better learn fast.

I've now dropped out of language classes. I decided that I wanted to prioritise speaking and listening over reading/writing. My speaking/listening is relatively good, compared to other language students. But it's a long way behind what I need as a base to start work in a local company (client). In class, there wasn't much opportunity to practice speaking, and there was a lot of emphasis on learning to read. Which takes a lot of time. Ideally I'd learn to read as well as write... but I'm kinda in a hurry to get back to working (i.e. making money rather than just spending).

By the end of June, I'll have been 6 months away from the office. I will stop taking subsidy from the UK office at this point - I couldn't possibly ask for any more! I'm a little sorry that my mandarin isn't further along though, I feel as if I haven't made as much progress as I wanted to. I think I could have achieved more if I had more focus... I think I have been distracted by travel, socialising, mandarin lesson structure, and classes/homework for my MBA classes. It makes for a busy lifestyle, and so it's hard to spend a considerable amount of time doing what I particularly want to do around the language. This is why I'm not attending classes now - to give me more free time so that I can structure my own study.

The tricky part about self-study is the discipline and motivation. The big plus about attending classes is that you can just do as you are told, and 2 years later hopefully you pop out with a good standard. On your own... you might make more progress, but wouldn't have the grammatical understanding that the classes teach, and it's real hard to march on your own.

And so... how is self-study the most effective? Well as EVERYONE keeps telling me.... by getting a local girlfriend. I have considered the idea up to this point, but each time I shy away from it. Putting the desperates / easy targets aside, there are some definite 'local' girls who I might be interested in here, as well as say mandarin speaking expats. And... I spoke to one friend of mine this week, and she seemed all the more attractive. I couldn't help but think that I was subconsciously more willing to fall into a relationship on the basis of language...

But as my brother more or less taught me with a T shirt of his, albeit crudely ("a dog is for life not just a saturday night"), a girlfriend is more than a short term proposition. Having not yet begun work as a consultant, I'm more than aware that not all girls will be happy with my being away / working overtime on occasions. Being away for extended periods of time, or having to work overtime and cancel on dinner dates etc. I think it safest I wait until I start work before getting into a relationship.

But that's the chicken way to think about it... maybe I should throw caution to the wind and get on enjoying more of today, and let tomorrow look after itself. Who knows.