Enjoy losing face. Just forget about your face. You can make it.

I think there is no best way to make friends. Just like Jura said, there are plenty of topics you could talk about. (country, culture, history, food, language, music, movie, travel, sports) In the end it depends if you get friends or not. There are many people of these countries which are interested in the culture and language of china. A good start for every chat is always. Hello, how are you? this sentence is never wrong.

People are the same everywhere. Weather, your city, food, music and movies are all safe topics of discussion.

i think a good way to make friends here is to do what you have already done, which is to simply ask. have a good day.