I am very fond of your site and your online course. The podcasts are top notch and I listen to them every day. The website is also very well done. I will be a long-time user/listener and feel that Adam and Kirin are personal mentors of mine.
I like diversity of cultures and for me learning Chinese gives me a chance to explore China’s culture. I plan to learn as much as I can over the next year as a basis for travelling to China some time in the future. The calligraphy is also something that draws me to the language. When you had said that you had started to pick it up 3 years ago then that gave me hope I can be fluent in Chinese, too. Keep up the great work!
By the way, I was born in the year of the pig and I intend to learn and advance my Mandarin this year with your help. Xiexie.