curiosity

Hang on to your hat, but maybe you should learn a little Mandarin.
I know that's an crazy suggestion as they should all learn English, but I tend to think out of the box.

Sounds crazy but it isn't ...i know and i am trying to    but the process it is much too slow compares with all the lonely days 
plus i wish to get in touch with some foreigners too....sometimes i miss not to think or hear from chinese mentality (and no ofence, i like chineses,otherwise i wouldn't be here) just that...they are different and i quite miss to get in touch with some people more similar with my way of being/thinking   

Hi Camelia. 

I know there are English speakers in Zhengzhou, since the universities employ foreigners to teach English and literature.  Perhaps since it's summer and the universities and high schools have closed, many expats may have returned home or have gone traveling either in China or in Asia.  Are there any coffee shops there? Many foreigners frequent them for their coffee and wifi environments.

If you plan to stay there for some I would highly recommend you take some Mandarin course to ease your way around the city and province.

If I may ask, whey did you select Zhengzhou as a place to live?

Regards,

David

I learnt a little mandarin because I was doing quite a bit of business with the Chinese community in the UK. I was never great, but I could manage a basic conversation and tell girls how beautiful they were.
Many people treat the UK Chinese very badly, so a friendly white guy with the right skills gets a lot of good quality work.
The four 'voices' are a problem at first but you get into it after a while.
The voices are also going to make the odd person angry, but the majority will see your massive errors as funny, so don't be surprised if a bunch of guys fall around laughing when you say entirely the wrong word as it sounds the same to you but you used the wrong voice, so said something very rude.
Rude words have a habit it using the fourth voice as it's the harsher sound.
"Fang pi!".
If you translate the pinyin, you'll see many words are literal in form, but have meanings outside that direct translation.

Have a tip, start with the numbers and thank you.
That'll get you shopping and sounding polite, a good start.

I'm sad to report I have lost most of my Mandarin because of lack of use.