[speaker001:] do you mind if I sit here?
[speaker002:] no, of course not. Go ahead.
[speaker001:] don't I know you?
[speaker002:] yes, now that you mention it, I think we had a chemistry class together in high school.
[speaker001:] you're right! How are you? It's been a long time!
[speaker002:] What did you do after high school?
[speaker001:] I went straight to university afterwards. What about you?
[speaker002:] I took a year off to go travelling.
[speaker001:] that sounds exciting. Where did you go?
[speaker002:] I went all over the world. It was the best year of my life. Where did you go to school?
[speaker001:] I went to a small school in Connecticut. It has a very good reputation for its languages department.
[speaker002:] Oh, did you study a foreign language?
[speaker001:] yes, I got a grant to study Chinese.
[speaker002:] that's a very difficult language to learn, isn't it?
[speaker001:] it is, but it's very rewarding.
[speaker002:] so you can speak Chinese?
[speaker001:] I can, but not as well as I'd like to. I'll be studying Chinese until the day I die!
[speaker002:] I think most languages take a lifetime to learn well.