Just do your best and try to practice on a daily basis. Speaking, I have found helps reading quite a bit. THere are plenty of things I know how to say in Chinese (after 3 months of study), but can't read. As I learn more characters, I see where they fit in with words I speak and can recognize certain characters and put them together with characters that I can't recognize just by sight, but by having spoken them. Involves a fair bit of guessing. If that makes any sense at all.

While I agree that Moondog's friend may be onto something, I know there is probably no way I would be that good in 2.5 months in the same scenario. Some people are just gifted.