[indziektor]

I haven't reached ten years abroad yet, not China, but for my anecdata, the local language is considered one of the harder ones for native English speakers to learn. To help remember it, I have to frequently put myself into situations where I feel pressure to speak and understand it. I can't just learn it by osmosis. I didn't grow up inundated by it, and I've had to invest considerably to get to where I am today with it.

I don't regret it at all, but it's time and energy which might have been better spent learning other things instead. Especially when English is mainly the official language at work, and many people on the street can speak it for business or travel anyway. Career options here are much more limited unless you have a decent command of English. My bigger reason to want to learn it has been for social purposes.