Dear peter,
I'm glad to hear that you are learning Chinese.I'll try my best to help you.
Learning Chinese is a long,diffcult and interesting process of language learning. It is a way to touch the chinese history and to relize the chinese culture.The following is a practical way for learning chinese.
Talkiing and speaking is a great way to learn language.So does chinese.You can use chinese to have a funny conversation about local people.
Best wishes!
Yours,Li Hua