sure, i'd say it would be a big achievement for you. Contact me if you want to learn Mandarin.

Learning a new language stretches your mind. That in itself makes it a good idea. China is also one of the world's up and coming economic powers, so being able to speak Mandarin would be a serious advantage when it comes to finding a job. (There are 1.3 billion Chinese, about 92% of whom speak Mandarin, according to the CIA World Fact Book.)

And you can read what those Chinese characters on teeshirts and tattoos really mean, and understand what's being said in TV shows like Firefly.

Mind, your idea of fun should include memorizing and practicing vocabulary, listening to recordings of the spoken language and learning to repeat it exactly (a small error in tone can totally change the meaning of a word in Mandarin), and, not least, learning about 10,000 signs of Chinese to become reasonably proficient in basic reading and writing. The only break you'll get is that Mandarin has a very simple grammar (about as simple as the English grammar).

I'd say being able to speak to around 2 billion people is quite an achievement, but what do i know:P

LOL im Mandarin and im telling you, chinese is the HARDEST language in the world. this is not exaggeration, its a fact.

you have to be very dedicated to master this language. for example, if you are in a english speaking country, you will be fluent in english in about 5 or 6 years or even less, depending on your age and ethnic ect.

for chinese, it WILL take more than 10 years. i am sure. the pronunciation is HARD.

now after you know how to speak, you must learn how to read, and i mean the traditional way of writing, they are not just write down what ever you speak, its as if a different language. bottom line, its damn hard.

good luck!!!