Hi NotJustBikes,
I just left a comment on your Switzerland video, but I’m not sure if you’ll ever see it. I’m wondering if you’d be willing to consider taking a trip to China and checking out their walkable/cyclable infrastructure & their accessibility to trams/metros/trains?? I really, really think you’d fall in love with every city you could possibly go to there.
I recommended 3 youtube channels to you in the comment I left: Walk East, CN Walking, and Colorful World. Watch just the first minute or so of these videos & you’re going to fall madly in love with these cities!!! Zhuhai, Shenzhen, Suzhou, Nanning, Nanjing, Harbin, Shanghai, Chengdu, Chongqing, … the list goes on and on; these cities are BEAUTIFUL!!!
I’d love to see a video or two on China if you ever decide to go. If you go, I recommend cities like Shanghai, Zhuhai, and Suzhou. I say these cities because of the size: Shanghai, with respect to their population, is HUGE, (24.8 million) Suzhou is in between these two countries (~8.4 million), and comparatively speaking, Zhuhai is very small (2.5 million).
The thing that’s fascinating to me about all of these cities though is that they are all so well taken care of; they’re all so clean, so sleek, so modern, robust, efficient, and cutting edge in just about every way. Their train lines, walkability, & accessibility are truly unheard of to me as an American who’s not had a chance to leave the country yet.
I really hope you see this post & consider taking a trip. Godspeed!
EDIT: This is a photo of the Zhuhai Opera House!!
Duolingo, drops, daily chinese, and skritter (apps) are your new best friends!! Also, I haven’t had a chance to crack into it the way i’d like to yet, but if you go on anna’s archive (use a vpn please!) there’s a book on there you can download for free titled, “learn to speak chinese: beginning mandarin chinese for native english speakers” that is very thorough & very well written!!
Saying all of this because I (22 y/o, she/her) honestly used to think I was too dumb to learn another language, but my boyfriend encouraged me to download duolingo & just give it a try. So, I gave spanish a good go & got over that mental roadblock, switched to french, & et maintenant, je sais beaucoup de français !! (and now, I know a lot of french!!) Duolingo does a wonderful job gameifying learning a language. You could also take an online course through UDemy.com if you wanted (only purchase a course when they’re doing a sale though; don’t pay $60-$200 for a course when you could get it for $15!)
Best of luck friend. I seriously suggest just starting by downloading Duolingo. Anyone can learn a language at any point in their lives!! It just requires some practice. Good luck! You got this!! :))