While I was in Taipei I had a go at learning some Cantonese. With a copy of Teach Yourself Cantonese and some help from my Cantonese-speaking friends I managed to acquire a basic knowledge of the language.
In 1999 I tried to learn some more Cantonese to improve my chances of securing a job as a Chinese Student Advisor at the University of Luton. The textbook I used was Colloquial Cantonese, which is quite good, though I found the lack of Chinese characters in it somewhat frustrating.
I was invited for an interview for the Luton job, though by that time I had already been offered a job in Brighton. Having visited both Brighton and Luton the decision which to choose was not hard - the job in Luton might have been more interesting, but Brighton is a much more pleasant place to live, so I chose Brighton.
I still know enough Cantonese to understand it a bit and to have a basic conversation, but rarely have opportunities to use the language so haven't made any further progress.
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