Do you have an accent?

After I greeted the three-man British packing team and showed them through the house, the head packer asked me, "Do you have an accent?"

This seems like a funny question, when you would think he would be the one to tell me, having listened to me speak. But actually, it's a euphemism for, "You aren't from around here, are you?"

This did not come as a surprise, for lots of reasons, but more recently because in a clothing shop earlier this week, as I was talking with Emily, a stranger queried, "Do I hear an accent?"

This English lady proceeded to explain that she was birthday shopping for a young friend who lives in Seattle, and she was eager to hear Emily's opinion on the choices. She held a dress up to Emily's back to check on sizes, and took Emily's advice on the jeans shorts rather than the white ones.

Back to today and the packing gentleman: he declared that I sound more Scottish than American. That's a new one! :-) Cool. This is partly because my accent automatically changes depending upon whom I am speaking with. Speaking with Emily I sound very definitely American (as in the shop), but speaking with the three British workers, I sounded otherwise. Going to a British school in Switzerland until 6th grade and then an international school with 88 nationalities (or something like that) can do very odd things to one's accent.

I do like living in Europe!

I dread to think what I will sound like in German. A broken, confused French-American-British-Spanish jumble, quite possibly. Well, let's give it time. :-)