A(cute) Accent

One of the very first things that struck me was the strong Australian accent. OK don't laugh. I am an Australian and I am supposed to be used to the Australian accent having lived here, right? But that was 16yrs ago!! I have lived in the US for 16yrs and should have thrown in my aussie accent and become one with the borg. I resisted or so I thought. I left the shores of Australia in 1991. My first visit back was 1996 and much to my horror Australians would ask me where I was from in the US. I was quite upset at that. Apparently resistance is futile. If nothing else, I had wanted to retain a wee bit of my aussieness, cripey. In 2004, I returned home to Australia again, and once again I was asked where in the US I was born.

That was it!!! How could I fight being surrounded by yanks and not take on their accents? No offense. I love the americans that I know personally (yes I am making a quiet point here) and their individual accents. However, replacing my accent with an american one is not me. Taking someone's accent is like taking the sparkle out of champagne, it is like taking the shoes out of my closet. It would be like removing this guy's tatoo from him (I noticed this guy's tatoo as I was walking on the beach one day. He kindly let me photograph it).

This vacation, I have arrived home accent intact. The aussies have not mistaken me for an american. I am making up that my accent is more aussie because I have left behind baggage (an exhusband who is Canadian/American). I am more me now. The bubble is back in the champagne!!!