Slow Transformation.

Over the last year in England - more than a year actually - I've become the kind of person who says "at the end of the day", who raises their voce at the ends of sentences, who says "bloody hell", who accidentally pronounces things the English way - like garage - and who no longer thinks baked beans on a potato is a strange thing. So I accepted all of this - I am after all quite absorbing of my surroundings - when I lived in Alabama for 2.5 years I had developed a Southern Accent. I become where I live.

Which I was fine with, until today when I saw a cricket match on TV, England v. South AFrica, and actually kept it on. ON PURPOSE. And now I wonder if there's ever any going back.

So this leads me to wonder as well... how have all of you found yourselves slowly adapting more, slowly becoming a part of your surroundings, slowly blending a bit. I know collington says "jumper" now. Silly girl. : )

Absolutely.  It seeps into your brain and soul bit by bit.  Soon you have to think before you do anything around Americans because you actually can't *remember* which way is their way anymore.  And then you start second guessing everything you do around Brits again too.

Like you, I've in the past become part of my surroundings rather quickly.  WHen this first started happening to me right around the 1 year mark, I started really worrying that I was losing my American-ness.  I started wondering if in a little while I really would sound British and think British and *gasp!* eat British.  But I'm happy to say that I've managed to somehow retain many of my quirky American habits, and I've gotten quite good at switching from one set of social rules to another.  But it takes some practice!

One thing that still drives me crazy for example is the fact that I have to actually *think* about which side of the road is the British way and which is American.  For example, if I see a car commercial, I have to really look at it and think, 'his right is my left and in America we drive on the...." etc.  Whereas it used to be so obvious to me!  I would just instictively know that what I was seeing was 'wrong' and different than what I was used to.

But that cricket match thing is just weird, Marlespo.  I've never gone *that* far.  

I keep forgetting words too. I was talking to David about getting a stroller for baby-to-be, and could NOT think of what they were called. Push-carts? Prams? Trolleys? Lorries? Strollers? AH! Strollers!

And I looked quite stupid trying to invent sign-language for stroller.

I found myself doing this even before I moved to the UK.  Employed by BT, I worked with a lot of Brits so found myself picking up some of their ways of speaking..the main one was calling a cell phone a mobile.  My kids used to tease me about that.  Now that I'm living here, I do find myself picking up little things here and there.  I can imagine I'll be doing much more so in a year!

I don't know if it's so much living here as being married to a Brit.  Even when Andrew and I were living in America for three years I picked stuff up.  To make his life easier, I just started to call them jumpers. ()  There were other things as well, but it's just a matter of spending most of my time with this person and we both kind of melded to each other.  He picked up some of my stuff, I picked up some of his stuff.

Living here has definitely made me pick up MORE things; absolutely.  You HAVE to unless you want to be looked at oddly.  And I'm TOTALLY with you in that sometimes my brain backfires and I can't remember who says what.  Like when "crisps" just naturally falls out of my mouth, but SO naturally that I freak out that I said the American word... then I have to think and make sure it was the right word.

I'm not worried about losing my American-ness, though.  I am an American, and I always will be... and while I may pick up words and phrases and stuff, it's just natural adaptation.  But I'll never stop being who I am.

P.S.  I'm with you, Marlespo!!!  I'm also watching the England v. South Africa.

Some things i still stumble over.  Unlike Buffy up there I have NOT been able to bring myself to call it a jumper.  It's still a sweater to me. lol  A cart is still a cart and I only call it a trolley if I'm speaking to someone I know won't understand.

But on the other hand, like you, dearest Sara, I find myself doing much of the same things: sentences end with an up emphasis, English spellings have creeped into my writing style (although I seem to be able to switch back and forth ok), and the dreaded "at the end of the day" does get said sometimes.  My oldest daughter says she notices a difference in the way I speak.  I had a friend, when I went home, say I was sounding English because of the way I said "auction".  Apparently I ennunciated it a little too much for his midwestern ways.  

Anyway...yea...I've definitely transformed a bit.

I have been here since April but lived with my brit hubby for 4 years in the states and I too have picked up things and he has picked up things.....I think what is going to be the hardest is when my daughter starts talking....all the different words americans and brits have for things is going to confuse her, let alone me lol.

Your not alone, Sarah hunni, I watched all I could on the Cricket match, but only because everyone in my office (except me! buttheads) were there.

Did I mention I live only 10 minutes away from the stadium...

Anyways... I have done everything you've talked about. I pronounce tomato like the English and I don't even have to think about calling things by their english terms. I think my biggest thing is I've adopted all the british swear words. They make me giggle.

Funny y'all should mention this (how English is "y'all" BTW?), but when I've visited Jolly Olde, my husband looks at me sideways because for years I've taken the piss out of him, but when we're there, I pull a Madonna and break out in accent. It's so embarrassing, but I can't seem to stop myself.

At the end of the day, y'all...I'm still a Texan.

LOL

Beth