I know the feeling. I can speak Montrealese French, which is a type of patois nearly undecipherable to people who know European French. My 17-year-old dauaghter has just ensconced herself at McGill University in Montreal, where she is doing just what you mentioned: immersing herself in the language and culture.

I often think that regional dialects are more interesting than the "standard" forms of languages.

Hey, what happened to the Orange content of this thread?