住む　or 住んで or 住みます. If I were to show someone I don't know well a picture and say "This is where I live." Which form would I use to express "I live" and why?

To move somewhere If I were to say I moved somewhere, or will be moving somewhere ; in Japanese do I use 変わる for "move"? Or is another word used for this kind of situation. ありがとうございます

かえる　vs. りょうがえ Both these words mean "exchange". When would I use each? ありがとうございます

Using で with は Hello. Here is the example sentence: 図書館の中では、静かにする。 Why use both で and は ? ありがとうございます

きれいにした　Cant remember why it ends in した The full sentence is: アリスは自分の部屋おきれいにした。 What or why does きれいに end in した? I'm having trouble recalling the use of this. ありがとうございます

Making friends with (Japanese in particular) locals when traveling.

I am on Okinawa for the summer because I had an opportunity here. I will be going to "mainland" Japan for a few weeks end of summer.

I have been studying Japanese for a year and a half but can not even really construct a sentence yet. I have a fair amount of vocabulary though. But I believe it would be good just to be around Japanese people, listening and trying to speak when I can.

I'm in a unique situation because I am staying in a "rural" part of the island, and have my own transportation so won't be needing public transit. These are things that put you out of contact as opposed to in contact. Also there is a heavy American military presence here and I do not want to be lumped in with them. 

What would you all do or have done to try  and interact with locals? Especially when trying to learn their language?

Use of 用 This character comes up in two example sentences on a set of flashcards I'm using. Here are the sentences: 喫煙用テラス レストランには、喫煙用のテラスが別にある I'm trying to understand the purpose of 用 and when to use it. Thank you!

わかりました A Japanese language learning site I'm using has わかりました as meaning : alright, I get it, OK. But I thought this was the past tense polite form of わかり. So wouldn't it mean "I got it" or "I understood"?

Using the の and は　particles. I don't understand when to use の, outside of showing possession. For example what is it's function in this sentence, which came from a textbook I'm using? And why is は placed where it is? I thought it was a subject marking particle and so wouldn't the subject be "study" and so wouldn't it come after that? Honestly in such a short sentence why is a subject marking particle even necessary, what would a person who heard this sentence not understand if it was left out? 毎日勉強擦るのは大変。 ありがとうございます