you say hello, i say goodbye...

I have been here for over 6 weeks and I am still saying "Gruezi" for goodbye instead of hello. It just sounds like one should say it at the end of an exchange as well as at the beginning. Kind of like Aloha.

By the way, for those of you who plan on visiting, what you should say is not as easy as danke shon (thank you) auf wiedersehen (goodbye), either. This is Switzerland, not Germany so Swiss German is the language to speak, which is not a written language, and sounds like a melange of German, Italian, French and ubi-dubi (10 points for all who get this reference...).

Gruezi is Swiss German (pronounced "grewt-zi") and is what most people here say for 'hello'. It is much easier than what is said for goodbye and thank you. (Goodbye is a bastardized version of the French "adieu" - sounds like 'ah-day'). Just when I thought I had it, it changed. It pretty much is a combination/variation of 4-6 things that change(s) given the time of day, the mood of the clerk, your mood, the section of town and the lunar phase (not literally, but may as well be as far as I'm concerned...)

It sometimes seems like the Japanese custom where one person bows then the other bows and it just keeps going. I have asked Mark to translate a few times after particularly lengthly goodbye/thank yous. It goes something like this: thanks / thank you / thank you very much / your welcome / no problem / goodbye / have a nice evening/day/afternoon / thank you for telling me to have a nice evening/day/afternoon / you are welcome / and you are welcome / come again / thank you / goodbye / goodbye / bye / bye ....

Really ... it's overwhelming and exhausting so I have decided to smile and nod wherever I go and no one will know if I am deaf / mute / don't speak the language / don't feel like talking / feel superior and/or hate everyone and am just trying to make it though the day without crying ...

I really need to sign up for those German classes ... soon