Does anyone out there speak Romani? Has anyone ever attempted to learn it?

I have learned a number of foreign languages, but my favorite is Romani, the language of the so-called Roma people. The Roma are sometimes pejoratively called "Gypsies," but this term is not appreciated and should be avoided. The language is spoken in many dialects in many countries of the world, wherever the Roma people are found, but is not often learned by non-Roma. 

I was fortunate to have the opportunity to learn the language from a good friend when I was living in Skopje, Macedonia, and after several years of intense practice became quite fluent. One very challenging, but fun, aspect of learning Romani was the fact that there is no standard writing system (it is rarely written), and not much in the way of useful grammars or dictionaries. It must be learned directly from the speakers; I spend an hour every day chatting with my friend and writing down everything he said, and then practicing it in ensuing lessons. Another interesting feature of the language which actually may increase your learning speed is that about half of the vocabulary of any Romani dialect is borrowed from the national language of the country in which it is spoken. In my case, this meant that half of the Romani vocabulary I was learning was actually from Macedonian or Serbian, which I already knew.

I would love to hear from someone else who speaks, has learned, or would like to learn Romani! It's a fascinating and very expressive language.