Well, after almost four months in Australia, I still have an American accent. Last night was actually the first time somebody told me that I'm picking up a little bit of Aussie. I haven't noticed any change in my accent, but the bloke said that I was much easier to understand than most Americans.
Others don't feel the same way. A couple of weeks ago, a coworker of mine pulled me aside and told me, "Aaron, I think your American accent is actually getting thicker as time goes on." I am starting to sound Aussie in my word choices though. The Aussie slang is really penetrating my speech. My father was paying me out recently about it (AH! there it is "paying me out"). Bloody is one of my favorite new words. I think I'll keep that one. I've used it a fair share in the states; Never have I been one to let my locale or generation make certain slang off limits. Bloody, Poof (a gay guy), Fag (a cigarette) have been a part of my vocabulary for years (thank you BBC!). I am starting to talk Aussie enough that most people think right away that I've been here for a while, even though my accent gives me away.
It shall be a very funny occurrence when I go back to the states, especially if I pick up an accent. Jess started sounding very American by the time she went home; she caught a lot of grief. Slowly, one week at a time, I heard her sound more and more Aussie again. Suddenly, one day while on the phone, I could barely understand her. I think though that I will find myself more resilient than that. Maybe I'm like my father. He's been living outside of Missouri for forty years, yet everybody knows he's from the Show Me state. Or maybe it is just an American thing; most American ex-pats seem to keep their accent around here.
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