learning chinese
 

I grew up overseas and speak cantonese + basic mandarin, but never learned to read or write. If I spend one or two hours learning characters every day, how long should it take to become literate (how many characters should I am for)?
Should I take a class or just practice by myself?

Is there a community college that offers a course in Chinese? It may help you out?

Maybe you could go to your local University and see if any of the Chinese students would help you learn?! I know that a lot of the foreign exchange students have an organization (like my campus has Friends of China). They may have some useful materials or ideas!