What people want to know about Japan and its language

It's been a month since I joined italki. Thanks to the enthusiastic learners here (including you!!), I get follower requests and messages from new people almost every day. I've already chatted with some of them on Skype several times.

The question many of them ask me is, "Can you tell me about your country and culture?". This makes me proud of myself as a Japanese, but at the same time, makes me confused about what they really want to know and how I can help them. Some of them talk about my country's history (post World War II, etc.) and others talk about anime (cartoon), TV drama, or traditional culture. A couple of my friends here have learned hundreds of kanji characters and use them like a native speaker, which made me so surprised because even Japanese students take several years to master them by practicing repeatedly at school. Through these experiences, I realized that our country is attractive to more people than I expected before. A book said there are a couple million people who are learning Japanese around the world. This fact is beyond my imagination.

Everyone who is learning Japanese language and our cultures, it would be nice if you could let me know what makes you learn them and what you would like to get through (or out of) learning the language. I'd like to know what you expect from (or of) Japanese language partners.

クミコサン、英語がとっても上手です！

ノート：「Culture」という言葉は大抵複数形を使わないです。日本全国の一般的な文化について話したら、「Culture」を使います。でも、色々な文化の違いについて話したら、「Cultures」を使います。例えば、誰かが「What are some of Japan's different cultures？」と聞いて、たぶん沖縄や北海道や関東等の文化の違いについて話したいです。

私は、子供の頃、日本のアニメや映画が好きでしたから、高校のとき自分で日本語を勉強しようとしました。自分で難しすぎましたが、勉強すればするほど、日本の文化等や人が好きになりました。学びたい日本のことは、人によって違うかも知れませんが、私は日本語で話せる友達ができたら、嬉しいです。トピックはかなり大切じゃないです。