It's up to you

You can thank the NEA for the dumbing down of our children. We have a constitution, we have civil rights, we have freedom. Some of those who wish to remain in power rely on a stupid voting population. Freedoms slowly erode, first they want to take away our freedom of expression, by trying to regulate the radio waves with so called Fairness Doctrine, Then they will try to take away our right to bear arms.
One thing we must remember in the USA, the government will not guarentee that you will succeed, but give you the chance to either succeed or fail.

Great post, madwife. I’m another happily transplanted Brit who’s been here in the USA for 12 years. Wow—how time flies! When I was growing up, my mum had the wanderlust bug, and we would up and move every year or so, on average. Unfortunately, our travels only took us to various parts of England, each trip interspersed with "going back home" to Ireland, supposedly "for good this time." It never was. LOL! When I think of how much of the world I could have seen had she wanted to stretch her wings just a bit further. Sigh. But I digress. LOL!

As you know, every part of England has its own very distinctive accent, and I was prone to pick up the local way of speech wherever we lived, usually within a couple of weeks! By the time we came to the States, though, I guess I was too old, so this time I really AM the one with the accent (probably a bit of a mish-mash, as you can imagine) and it’s sticking with me.

I suppose I inherited that wanderlust, which is what made it pretty easy (emotionally) to pack up the kids and leave for pastures new. My mum was no longer with us by then, and I had no other family (apart from the one I created with hubby), so I guess there wasn’t too strong a pull to keep me in England anyway.

You’re right about what an ice breaker an accent can be. Most people love to try to guess where I’m from then tell me about their long-ago vacation across the pond, ask about the price of gas, what do I think of the Queen (!!!!), do I know Joe Blow who lives in London (population about 8 million), and all the rest. I’ve never been asked what language they speak in England though. I think I’d just lose it!

Soon after we arrived, my then-6-year-old daughter’s 1st grade teacher made good use of me and my accent. I remember going in for an "English Tea" afternoon, bringing in very English "fairy" cakes for all the kids and having my daughter run around pouring drinks from a teapot into cute little cups and saucers. She loved it! (Too young to be embarrassed by Mum) Then I sat them all down and read a story I had made up, using all the British terms for a "day in the life" story. They thought it hysterical that the little boy helped his mom put the shopping in the boot (trunk), was dressed in a jumper (sweater), vest (undershirt), and had pants (underwear) under his trousers (pants) and trainers (sneakers) on his feet. I can’t remember what else there was, but it’s amazing how many differences you can come up with when you work on it. LOL! The one question I really remember from one of these little kids was asked with a look of complete awe… "Are the houses REALLY all made of brick? Like the 3 little pigs’ house?" Kids—they’re the same the world over—adorable!

All these encounters are opportunities to educate people. It's a process. (And apparently, with many in the population, a very LONG process.) Glad you have a sense of humor about this.