"My Chinese Is Getting Worse"

Since I've been in HK, I try to speak Chinese as much as I can. It can be frustrating because I just don't have the vocabulary to articulate what I want to say in terms of meetings, world events or the arts. However, my Chinese has improved significantly and I continue to learn new key words every week. My recent Cantonese vocab includes:

Information = jee liu
Chance = gei wui
Philosophy = jeet hok
Pay Rent = gau jo

Recent Mandarin vocab includes:

How's it going? = Zen Mo yang?
(a few dirty phrases)

While my Chinese is improving, I have had several friends recently tell me that their Chinese has gotten worse since they've known me. They're Chinese is becoming slow and broken around me and they tend to use simpler vocabulary. One of my friends has decided to try only speaking English with me so that she can at least improve her English while I try to improve my Chinese. Unfortunately, the result is a conversation in broken Enlglish and broken Chinese which often means for v-e-r-y sloooooow and frustrating conversations. Eventually, one of us breaks down and reverts back to the language we're most comfortable with.

Ahhhh... life as an illiterate who can barely speak. Priceless!