Speaking Thai again

Yesterday was the first day of my intercultural communication class. There was this Chinese guy who said in his self-introduction that he was able to speak Thai, which got me really excited thinking I had finally found someone to speak Thai with. During the break, I approached him and told him that I could speak Thai too and that he and I could become Thai speaking partners. He agreed it was a great idea, and we both started by greeting each other in Thai. On our way out of the building after class, we had more conversation in Thai in he said he was very impressed with my Thai pronunciation, which, according to him, is not very different from that of Thai people. I told him it was because I was lucky to learn with a Thai native, an expert on Thai culture and language, for two years back in college. He said he was in Thailand for two years working as a Chinese teacher. The more we spoke, the more words and phrases I was able to recall. In fact, I haven't spoken Thai for ten years, and all of my Thai vocabulary has gone to a sleep mode. However, as we spoke, my vocabulary was re-activated, and I was so surprised that I could still speak Thai so fluently. The truth is I really miss speaking Thai. Sometimes I play old Thai songs that I used to listen to in college and sing along. Other times I speak Thai to myself. I'm really afraid that my Thai will finally go down the drain if I don't get to  use it often. But I'm really happy that I found someone who could speak Thai with me though it's just once a week when our class meets and his Thai is not that good. As we chatted, he told me that there are some people in the oriental market where we live who can speak Thai too. I can't wait to practice Thai with them. It's not that it's so hard to encounter Thai people here. In fact, I once got to know a Thai lady who was in English class with my husband. She's a really nice person and we exchanged phone numbers, but then I held off the idea of contacting her finding it a little weird given me not knowing her that well. Also I know there's a group of Thai students on campus and I really want to join them, but I'm just not sure how to approach them and if they're willing to speak Thai with me given the fact that all international students want to speak English more. Anyway, I think I'll just give it a try.