Yeah, Japanese is a bitch. Of course, they make their language even more complicated by insisting (by using cultural arguments) on using a writing system (logograms) that was considered innovative at the time of the Babylonians but that's culture for you. 
Always wanted to be able to sit down and read the newspaper. I've got maybe 200 kanji I'd remember pretty quick and another 300 that would take a little more reminding. Then only another 1500 to go to read at a junior high level!

Wish I had your facility for languages, D.

I never heard a japanese girl "shriek" besides when getting fucked, and on the other hand other asians make the same noises, so i think it must be an asian thing.
‐そう is a way to express "looks like if", i.e. 暑そう atsusou "looks like if it's hot"...
Only when you have actually tasted the thing it becomes "おいしい", until then it's おいしそう oishisou "looks like if it was tasty"... LOL
Cheers, DK. Actually, this is ringing a pretty dim bell. I've got a few tutorial books (which I never finished). Clearly, it's time for a review.
I've thought about googling up some children's TV too or some sort of viewing intended for non-students. The news would be completely unintelligible to me these days, although I was catching more and more of it several years ago... meaning 20% at best.
The thing that really annoyed me about courses and learning materials is that they just didn't apply to a conversation on the street. I'm sure I sounded like a horses ass using -masu verbs talking with people in a bar. Also, I was totally overwhelmed by how fast they speak. Most people were pretty patient with me, thankfully.