So would I. Think of what I'd have to do to get a thrill if everyone else were carbon copies of one another! xD
Yes, that is why, and yes, it is Japanese. It means, roughly, wish on a star. ^_^
I've never tried total immersion in anything to learn it, except writing and drawing, and considering where I am now re both of those, I guess it's probably a good system for me. :P Spelling and grammar thumb their noses at EVERYONE. They just do it more blatantly at some people. xDDD
Oh goodness, yes. Foreign cultures and languages and history and... yeah. One culture I really wish I could see in the flesh is that of Ancient Egypt... talk about WOW. ^__^ Planning and dreaming make everything more tolerable. :D (You'll have to tell me more about that Introductory Linguistics course at some point. Hehe.)
Yeah, true. I just have to get over my ACK-PEOPLE-mustbeshy!!! thing. Seriously, being around people irl makes me make like a clam. xDDD Wouldn't be able to tell it from this, huh? (Plus, you know, I'm mostly deaf, and that helps nothing insofar as in-person communication goes. xDD)
Hmm. Counting my native tongue, and discounting so-called "dead" languages, English, Japanese, Arabic, Chinese, Vietnamese, Italian, Greek, Welsh, German, Spanish, French, Hindustani, Hebrew... hm. Add in the "dead" languages... Ancient Egyptian and Latin, as well as a conglomerate of tongues from the ancient Middle East.
Add in whatever ones I make up myself (and there's this weird part of me that wants to learn all the forms of Tolkien's Elvish, and Klingon...), and I'll end up speaking the weirdest sentences.... xDDD
As for why... Mostly because they sound and look cool, but also because there is something indescribably wonderful about figuring out what something means. I regularly challenge myself to put together words and phrases in Japanese, just because it's one of the most fun things I can think of. I love playing with words and meanings, always have, and I think that translates into a love of languages in general.
Besides, I can get good money for "playing" like that. xDDDD