[Sis84]

Hello.

I came to this forum for alot of reasons.
I have not been to Japan yet, but hopefully will be sometime next summer.
Besides the excitement of the trip, I have been searching for a place online where I would be able to actually fit-in.
Back in high-school, I became interested in alot of the Japanese pop culture. (Mainly the stuff teens are into now: manga, anime).
I also wanted to learn the language to give me a challenge. I was tired of speaking my own native language. Ever since I became interested into the Japanese language, I have picked up Japanese novels, films,etc.
I take the novels with me when I am out in public and I get stares and snickers mainly from people who are American. I am American, myself.
Has anyone dealt with this? I've been able to ignore it, but I would just like reassurance.