Birmingham, England and my mental i-pod

So today was the first time that I encountered people who actually commented on my accent. You know immediately that someone is thinking about your accent when a small smirk pops up on their face as they try not to notice. The English seemed completely entertained by how I pronounced certain words. It’s funny though because you always want to know whether or not your accent is a pretty one (i.e. Italian or British) or an ugly one (i.e. German) I wanted to ask but I didn’t think anyone would have been impolite enough to give me an honest answer. I decided to just go ahead and ask the guy I was talking to in the bar to imitate what he thought an American accent sounds like. At first he just laughed but then obliged... his imitation sounded more southern than any rendition I’ve ever heard. He said mine was ‘lovely’ though. Although I think he was just flirting…he knew damn well he thought I sounded the same way.

What’s strange is that their accent was so thick that at times it was almost like they were speaking another language. I had to focus more on the conversation and realized rather early on that I could easily tune them out. Perhaps, I should marry someone English because then when I don’t want to hear what they had to say I wouldn’t have to. It’s like putting in your ipod minus the music. During an argument I could just tune out, i.e. hit play, and when they were done yelling, tune back in. Yes, this is what I’m going to do. I’m off to London now, so Priority #1 is officially finding a boy who likes me enough to move across the ocean to live in the US. Hmph…I can’t even find one now who will buy me flowers. This one might be tough…