Access to an undreamt-of world of Swiss frivolity and cheery banter.

"Schweinsbratwurst, mit oder ohni?" Two years ago I'd have mumbled "ohni" and slunk off without any idea what I was declining. Now I have the confidence to ask "mit oder ohni was dann?" - and the answer was "Grippe!"

Not side-splittingly funny, maybe, but it made me smile - exactly the same kind of exchange you might have with a gas station attendant back home.

For a long time I thought such casual humor just wasn't part of the culture here, but of course it is... I'd just been overlooking it (overlistening it?) due to my very basic language skills.