Adorable Accents

When I was preparing to move to London, one of the things I was most excited about was getting to hear all of the British accents. Accents are obviously really adorable, and I'm a firm believer that a great accent has the power to make any person at least five times more attractive. Maybe even ten.

I always knew Katy Perry and I were the same person.
Ever since "I Kissed a Girl".

I'd like to take this opportunity to say that I don't believe I have an accent. I took this quiz online, and it told me so. It also said I have a great voice for TV and radio. (There's a wink and a nudge to you, TV executives!)

However, I feared that some of the British people I encountered were not going to agree with me on my plainly nonexistent accent. I thought it would point me out as American right away, and bring with it some negative connotations. I was only sort of correct here.

Yes, British people (and every other nationality I've encountered) immediately recognize that I'm American. And while I've had several people tell me that I'm disgracing the English language by ruining it with my voice, some (less) of the feedback has been more positive! I've even had a few people ask me to repeat their names because they like hearing it in an American accent!

I've considered the possibility that they're doing this to make fun of me.
But I'm choosing to disregard the thought.

But there's one conundrum with all of this accent loveliness. I've noticed that when I'm talking to a local, I'll start to speak like them. Imagine me, talking to a London native, trying to communicate in my poor excuse for a British accent. I feel like such an asshole because I'm sure they can hear it. And I'll try really hard to focus on not doing it, but I can't help it. It just happens. It's awful. And I want to apologize to the London community as a whole.

I've gotten a little better at not speaking with the full accent, but some of the inflections in my voice have definitely changed. Part of me kind of hopes that that part stays when I go back to the States. English people sound classy, and I have a reputation to uphold.

Or at least one I need to pretend to uphold.