Learning a foreign language is a complicated matter. Being American, my native language is English. I chose Chinese as a second language. I find it very difficult to learn, with many problems still extant. I have not yet overcome my difficulties learning Chinese. 
I began learning Chinese in January 1997. I was twenty-two years old at that time, which was my first problem-twenty-two is considered old to begin studying a language. However, there was nothing I could do about that. 
My next difficulties were use of an outdated textbook and limited study/class time. I overcame these problems by studying hard and talking with Chinese friends. However, the class was undermotivated and never made much progress. 
In August 2000, I finally found my way to China. While Chinese is obviously ubiquitous in China, many difficulties remain. First and foremost, many people can speak and have great desire to improve (their) English. This limits my use of Chinese in daily life, as I have never been "forced" to speak Chinese. Second, local dialects can be very confusing.
 Additionally, I find the language itself nearly incomprehensible. Chinese is not linguistically related to English, so there are few similarities. The various tones of Chinese are difficult to differentiate, and remembering Chinese characters borders on the impossible.
 I hope one day I can overcome my difficulties, because I like Chinese very much and want to succeed in my efforts.