Looking for an Indonesian language study buddy

Hello everyone!

During the past several years I have studied Indonesian for a few months, quit for some time, only to go back to lesson one and start over again.  I am very much interested in learning Indonesian but I am afraid that it is impossible for me to continue much longer by myself.  I would like to find someone with whom I can study or practice the language.  It would be wonderful to find an Indonesian to help me, but I am afraid that I wouldn’t be able to give anything in return for all the time and patience.  Also, in order to truly improve my skills, I need to find someone who is willing to study with me more than just once or twice.  Perhaps a good idea would be to look for another foreigner like myself who is very interested and serious in learning the language.  Having the same interest in learning the language and perhaps also similar goals, I suppose that we could help each other.  Of course, my suggestion isn’t perfect because we would probably have limited knowledge.  I have tried studying a different foreign language in the past with fellow student in such a way and we were able to practice and help each other very much and we continue to this day to chat in that language once a week on Skype.

Let me write just a little about myself here.  I am a white American male and have been living in Japan for twenty-one years.  I am forty-one years old and am very much interested in learning about other cultures and in particular foreign languages.  I can speak English, Japanese, French and Italian.  Also, although my fluency isn’t like that of a native speaker, I can speak a few other languages.  I have studied even more langauges in the past not so much to become fluent in those languages but to look at them from a linguistic point of view and try to understand the mechanisms of those languages.  In addition to studying foreign languages, I like reading, working out with light weights, swimming, listening to music, traveling, watching Korean DVDs and writing in my blog.

If possible I would like to find another non-Indonesian speaker who is very enthusiastic about learning the language and practice together on Skype by either trying to converse in the language or perhaps doing exercises from a textbook depending on our language skills.  I am not looking for an English-Indonesian language exchange.  However, if an Indonesian is interested in practicing Japanese, French or Italian, I might consider it.

I would describe my general Indonesian level as lower intermediate.  I have worked through a few textbooks in the past and have a good idea of the basic grammar but because of a hiatus from time to time, I don’t think that I have mastered all the necessary grammar and vocabulary to speak freely in Indonesian.  Since I have tried to learn the language by myself, my conversational skills are upper beginner.  I need a lot of practice!

Here is a short list of the English books I have for learning Indonesian.  I also have several Japanese books and a few Korean books for learning Indonesian:

Bahasa Indonesia Book One by Yohanni Johns  ISBN 0-945971-56-7
Teach Yourself Indonesian by Christopher Byrnes and Eva Nyimas  ISBN 978-0-07-142026-6
Colloquial Indonesian by Sutanto Atmosumarto  ISBN 0-415-09199-3
Indonesian – A Comprehensive Grammar by James Neil Sneddon  ISBN 0-415-15529-0

The Teach Yourself Indonesian book is new for me and I would like to perhaps start that book soon.

A few last words.  I am looking for either a male or female study buddy or a friend, not love, romance or anything more.  After having read this long explanation and you find yourself in a smiliar situation as me in that you would like to learn the Indonesian language seriously with another person, please contact me!

Hoping to find a study buddy,
ʻAnalū