>>572
>>573 is an idiot, I'm gonna be of any help to you.
First of all, I would say, through away Rosetta Stone and Pimsler, those are a little stupid.
If you are really serious about studying abroad, I would suggest you to learn at least the Hiragana and Katakana, those are the first things you should start with.
After that, I'm gonna tell you what works for me, it might not work for you.
For me, just listening to a language everyday, helps me catch words and phrases. You know, like a baby. The more you listen to the language, the easier it'll become.
The advantage we have over babies is that we know that objects are, watching a movie for example, you'll hear at least 2 or 3 common theme that comes back all the time, let's just say it's about a baby, you'll hear "akachan" ALL THE TIME. And boom, you fiugured out it means baby without even opening a dictionary.
Here are a few sites I recommand, give it a try.
http://japanese.about.com
http://www.guidetojapanese.org/blog/
Another one that I would recommand to use the method I use (that works for me but may not for you)
http://www.alljapaneseallthetime.com/blog/
Remember that you WILL NOT be able to speak Japanese in a few days, you have to be aware that it's gonna take a few months, probably years.
Your other option, is to enroll in a Japanese class, but you'll don't learn anything, but some people can only learn if they're in the atmosphere of a classroom.
Hope that helps.
Good luck.