Quote Originally Posted by <JANE> View Post
I think if one actually wants to take in the culture of a country they should live there. Even the most well meaning traveller can't actually claim to know the culture of a country without spending a reasonable amount of time there. People who take a year out and go travelling are kidding themselfs if they think they're really bringing anything more profound than a degree of life experience and some funny stories back.
i think the speed at which one takes in another countries culture is largely dependant on your social skills and your enthusiam, aka it's not an exact science and everybody is different

that being said, i feel as though if you're about average, you can get a general idea as to what the culture is like in a country if you actively try to learn about it in about a month or two. now this doesn't mean you're a damned native, but you should be able to grasp basics and realize if you want to learn more about said country after that length of time assuming you were paying attention at all imo.

edit: nice elitist comment capnfaggot that was enjoyable (i've lived in more countries than you--your experience in japan does not make you an expert at this)