From the mouths of hardware store workers

Had to share the conversation I had with the cashier in the hardware store today.

Cashier: Hi ma'am how are you today?

Me: Good thanks

Cashier: Cor blimey guv'nor - you're British (said in a very British accent)

Me: Yes I am

Cashier: (again in a British accent) Yes I am - that's so cute, you are so cute

I smiled politely in the hope the conversation would end there....

Cashier: have you heard of the spice girls?

Me: yes

Cashier: did you meet them?

Me: no but I used to live near one of their houses (true fact - one of then lived in Maidenhead!)

Cashier: (in an extremely loud and excited British accent) Oh my blooming god, that is spiffing

I roll my eyes at her and smile, I can feel the people behind me in line getting anxious for me to leave!

Cashier: did you watch their movie?
She then starts acting out scenes from the movie - including a scene about a little black dress!!

Me: I never saw the movie (ok that's a lie!!)

Cashier: do you like it when we mock your accent? Or not?

Me: I'm used to it, it's happens a lot

Cashier: you said 'a lot' that is so cute. I wish I could talk like you all the time.

Me: that's what everyone says

Cashier then goes back to scanning my goods (finally)

Then the best line I've heard yet

Cashier: so do you have special classes at school where you learn to talk like that? I wish we had classes like that.

Me: (after deciding not to burst her bubble) - yes at elementary school we have special speech lessons

Yes, I know I shouldn't encourage them.

Finally my goods are all rung up and she tells me the amount - clarifying I have to pay her in American dollars not British euros (yes again I didn't correct her that we still have the good old pound!)

Me: thanks

Cashier: (in a British accent) have a spiffing day, are you going home for a cup of tea now

Me: yes!!

Cashier: do you think I would be allowed to live in England if I could talk like you?

Me: maybe

Cashier: there are lots of you (I guess she meant Brits) living here, it's not fair. But it's OK as I think you are all cute. Come back soon and talk to me

At which point I left.

Nice accent

Conversation I had today

Lady in gym: 'I love your accent, how long are you visiting for?'
Me: 'Thanks, I live here'
L: 'Do you miss Australia?'
M: 'No, I've never been there'
L: 'where are you from?'
M: 'England'
L: 'are you sure? As I'm really good with accents'
M: 'yes 100% sure'
L: 'Im not convinced'

To which I just smiled till she moved away!

Yesterday the conversation in Walgreens with the cashier ended with me saying 'thanks' and she said 'tally ho' I gave her a strange look and she said 'isn't that what you people say?' Again I just smiled and walked away.

I maybe getting a slight American twang as lately I've been asked where I'm from a lot less :( guess I should start practicing the Queen's English again!!


- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

How I sometimes feel!!!

Ive just found this very funny video on you tube, and it sums up how I feel sometimes when I speak to people and have to repeat myself over and over again.........

It is quite a common occcurance, especially when Im on the phone, and the local chinese restaurant who we call on a regular basis still makes me spell out my road name!!

Surely my English accent isnt that hard to understand.

Now Im started on the whole subject, since being here I have only been asked twice if Im from Australia and once if I was Irish, actually make that twice, as a child last week said to me 'Why are you talking weird like an Irish person' - I quickly re-educated him :) Speaking to other British Ex-Pats , apparently its common to be asked if you are South African too - seriously!!

One thing that I have noticed since moving here is how friendly people are, in the UK you can walk down the street past lots of people and nobody speaks, but here everyone seems to speak or acknowledge you (although not in the city - mainly as its full of tourists), and I rarely find Im able to walk the dogs without people stopping to say how cute they are... Then I reply with 'thank-you' and all the questions begin, 'You are English, how cute, do you live here?' If I had a dollar for every time I've been told my accent is cute Id be rich! So sometimes Im glad when people walk past and don't speak to me, as after a while it gets annoying answering the same questions 'why are you here?', 'whats England like?' and the best ones are 'I have a friend called xxxxx who lives in England, do you know them?' I sometimes wonder if they teach kids at school about other countries, as they clearly are unaware that England is big enough that not everyone knows everyone else!

I guess this is my first real blog post about some of the UK/US differences, hopefully my next few posts will be as interesting. Also thanks for all the great ideas on what to blog about, I have them all on a post it note on my desk ready to work on