T: do you mind if I sit here?
P: no, of course not. Go ahead.
T: don't I know you?
P: yes, now that you mention it, I think we had a chemistry class together in high school.
T: you're right! How are you? It's been a long time!
P: What did you do after high school?
T: I went straight to university afterwards. What about you?
P: I took a year off to go travelling.
T: that sounds exciting. Where did you go?
P: I went all over the world. It was the best year of my life. Where did you go to school?
T: I went to a small school in Connecticut. It has a very good reputation for its languages department.
P: Oh, did you study a foreign language?
T: yes, I got a grant to study Chinese.
P: that's a very difficult language to learn, isn't it?
T: it is, but it's very rewarding.
P: so you can speak Chinese?
T: I can, but not as well as I'd like to. I'll be studying Chinese until the day I die!
P: I think most languages take a lifetime to learn well.
