Under cloudy skies here in the heights of Shinshu--Nagano--I send out my greetings along with a big friendly WELCOME to JREF !!
Wow...I really do appreciate your efforts to learn on your own. That's great. I have done a lot of that too. Learning is a very important thing; please keep it up. I'm sure you can do part of that learning--not only about Japanese, or things Japanese--here on the forums too! In improving your Japanese, it will take some effort, and there may be ups and downs, but don't give up !
Please do spend time and get to know the place, and of course, jump right in where you are interested. I look forward to hearing more from you !! See you 'round !! MM