To answer the second part of the question: I took a basic course in German sign language two years ago and I think I learned it much faster than the other ‘normal’ languages I learned, especially the vocabulary is much easier to remember because many signs actually remind you of their meaning. And the syntax is much easier, too.
Anyway, it was a lot of fun and I’d advise you to just try it.
There are many online courses or dictionaries for sign language, you can try this one:
http://www.handspeak.com/tour/index.php
or this:
http://commtechlab.msu.edu/sites/aslweb/browser.htm
To answer the second part of the question: I took a basic course in German sign language two years ago and I think I learned it much faster than the other ‘normal’ languages I learned, especially the vocabulary is much easier to remember because many signs actually remind you of their meaning. And the syntax is much easier, too.
Anyway, it was a lot of fun and I’d advise you to just try it.