I sound all wrong

I was raised exclusively in America. The standard mid-western-ish American accent is all I've ever known to be normal. I always wondered what it was like to hear a different accent as "normal."

Well, now I know. And the answer, at least for me, is "uncomfortable."

Not necessarily uncomfortable in the way you might expect. I've always found foreign accents intriguing, charming, fascinating, or some combination thereof. But now that I'm the one with the foreign accent, I realize how alienating it can be to have your voice come out of your mouth and have it sound all wrong.

I can speak half-British at this point. I've picked up a large number of common phrases that make me both a) more intelligible and b) less likely to stare at someone blankly when they say something. I've even started thinking in a British accent, but I somehow can't make it come out right quite yet (although under the influence of some relatively strong cider tonight I did give it another not-entirely-unsuccessful go). The unfortunate truth is that I can't say "I'm going to pop to the loo" in an American accent without sounding like the world's biggest moron. I dare you to say it out loud, and you'll see what I'm talking about. But hear a British person say it and you'll think it's the most natural thing in the world.

The other problem is that I've gradually begun to distinguish between regional UK accents. Granted, I can't tell which are which, but I can tell the difference when they are spoken (as in, that is not the same accent). I realize that my quest to come back to the US with a bona-fide British accent might be in vain. The only thing I'll ever come close to is a posh Londoner's accent, which, as I'm realizing, is kind of not the most desirable accent to have anyway. Ah well, I won't give up yet.

Words I cannot say:

pants (must instead say "trousers"...pants means underwear here)

spunky (will not go into details of what this means, but it's not good)

In other news, I love BT, and I love my job. I met loads of new people today, and they were all fantastic. My housemates and I went out with some other BT employees who are all recent college grads, and they are all wonderful people as well. I'm so looking forward to getting to know everyone this summer. We went to a restaurant called "Pizza Express" and spent about 2.5 hours there (apparently "express" refers to the speed at which you receive your menus and not a whole lot else). 

I love being here. I don't think I'll ever want to leave.

More later. Toodles!