Getting a Head Start

I finally finished the first installment of my language study flash cards tonight. There are approximately 650-700 cards that I've made by hand...they were made by cutting up blank 3x5 index cards into thirds, then punching a hole in one end, writing English on one side and Slovak on the back, putting a rip cord through a stack of 25-75 (depending on difficulty), then using a caribeaner to keep it all together. It probably cost less than $5.00 for the entire set. I won't lie, it took an incredible amount of time to do this, but I think it'll be well worth it.

Ever since I returned from Slovakia I've been trying to remember words and phrases here and there, but since the new year I've been trying to focus on finding methods to learn the language (especially since I've been living in NC with extra time to dedicate to this). Now that I've finally completed the flash cards I can start studying more efficiently.

That uneasy face I'm wearing is because of the difficulty I've already experienced in learning and remembering words and grammar rules. So even though I don't expect to have any reasonable knowledge of Slovak by the time I get to Slovakia *(whenever that may be)*, I do hope to at least get a head start in learning vocabulary and essential phrases.

Anyone have any other suggestions for learning a language? Or even Slovak?