Struggling at work and withdrawing.

[codie 7]

these comments and experiences are funny,another one i dont understand is the heritage thing,i had a man introduce himself to me at a party,he looked me straight in the eye and said ''im irish'' then a pause....was i supposed to yell,cringe,gasp,apologise ? i knew he wasnt by his accent but i played along and said '' oh where in ireland are you from,my cousins are from Galway''? he explained in detail he wasnt born there but he was irish ? ,anyway it turned out that his great great grandparents were irish immigrants,i replied my great granny was a russian jew and my great/grandparents are scots and im from yorkshire with a few irish cousins thrown in on my dads side,and i have a cousin who married a girl from ghana and that sort of killed the conversation,i dont get the african american,italian american,irish american thing ? where are the British americans ? why cant i find oxo cubes,or bisto gravy granules,i found marmite on a shelf signed 'british goods' and i almost wept ? why do i get confused in diners over how i want my eggs done and it ends in a detailed explanation to a waitress of' i want a runny yoke but not runny white,and then a debate at the table,a confused table, waitress and all discussing whether its over easy or easy under whatever ,and im sat like a pillock just wanting a runny yoke egg ? why do i get confused over what toasted bread i want with my eggs ( over easy under),do i want sour dough or .....i want toast !!! white and buttered !!

love the differences

[markonline1 11]

I'm always confused by threads like this as I don't experience this kind of stuff at all. I'm in California mind which probably helps, but I can honestly say no one has had problems with my accent. Where I'm working, I'm daily meeting people from all over the US and if anything, it's a great ice breaker.

Just a bit of culture shock maybe which hopefully will soon pass.

Edited July 20, 2013 by markonline1

[Glyn and Kathy 288]

these comments and experiences are funny,another one i dont understand is the heritage thing,i had a man introduce himself to me at a party,he looked me straight in the eye and said ''im irish'' then a pause....was i supposed to yell,cringe,gasp,apologise ? i knew he wasnt by his accent but i played along and said '' oh where in ireland are you from,my cousins are from Galway''? he explained in detail he wasnt born there but he was irish ? ,anyway it turned out that his great great grandparents were irish immigrants,i replied my great granny was a russian jew and my great/grandparents are scots and im from yorkshire with a few irish cousins thrown in on my dads side,and i have a cousin who married a girl from ghana and that sort of killed the conversation,i dont get the african american,italian american,irish american thing ? where are the British americans ? why cant i find oxo cubes,or bisto gravy granules,i found marmite on a shelf signed 'british goods' and i almost wept ? why do i get confused in diners over how i want my eggs done and it ends in a detailed explanation to a waitress of' i want a runny yoke but not runny white,and then a debate at the table,a confused table, waitress and all discussing whether its over easy or easy under whatever ,and im sat like a pillock just wanting a runny yoke egg ? why do i get confused over what toasted bread i want with my eggs ( over easy under),do i want sour dough or .....i want toast !!! white and buttered !!

love the differences

LOL...I used to have to help hubby order his breakfast when we went out. Dinner too sometimes. Salad and dressing always stump him! As for Bisto and Oxo, I only ever found Bisto once but it was at a local British importer of food But, we were always happy to find Heinz beans in our regular supermarket! I have to admit, there are many things from the UK that I will miss once we go back. Wish it weren't so damn expensive to fly back and forth I really do love England, and would have been quite happy to stay, but my English hubby misses the USA!

[rjm_cmyk 75]

these comments and experiences are funny,another one i dont understand is the heritage thing,i had a man introduce himself to me at a party,he looked me straight in the eye and said ''im irish''

I think that's a peculiarly American thing as many seem to define themselves today by their ancestors of yesteryear. I've been tempted to say "I'm of germano-Angle descent with a bit of French Hugenot thrown in" but I guess that would be a bit of a conversation stopper too. In the end it's easier to go with the flow and say "oh really ?" A masterful example of English English which can used in soooooo many ways :-)

I'm always confused by threads like this as I don't experience this kind of stuff at all. I'm in California mind which probably helps,

I've spent most of my time in CA and will be living there (SF) and like you I never have any real problems but I guess it's like London with a huge range of languages and accents. My problem getting served in some places e.g Subway is finding someone who can speak *any* English.

[Rushton50 10]

no, but she won't have problems in the future with possible clients for her husband's company.

No futher problems due to accent? Her struggling disappears, and that withdrawal disappears also.

It's quite possible you were thinking I was making a joke or poking a jibe.

I assure you, I am dead serious about this.

In fairness it will not help and her accent will be a novelty with many who have an interest in our country.

On rare occasions when I gas up the car, I get I love your accent! where are you from! Now this says to me they are unaware of the English accent and or geography.

[Holly2234 66]

I had to draw a map of Europe for a colleague who thought France was IN England yesterday.... Think i read somewhere that a certain percentage of Americans cannot find their own country on a map so i really shouldn't be surprised.

[indiana_sweetie 120]

I had to draw a map of Europe for a colleague who thought France was IN England yesterday.... Think i read somewhere that a certain percentage of Americans cannot find their own country on a map so i really shouldn't be surprised.

I once had a neighbor who called Amtrak and asked how much a train ticket to Hawaii was

Edited July 25, 2013 by indiana_sweetie

[Holly2234 66]

I once had a neighbor who called Amtrak and asked how much a train ticket to Hawaii was

Hahaha!

People also seem to think that England is so tiny that we all know each other... So its not surprising that people think the ocean isnt there!

[agnesb 47]

When I moved to UK 9 yrs ago there were some people that would make an assumption I am stupid, uneducated or just not worth listening because of my eastern-european accent. Then as years passed and more Poles arrived locals got used to hearing the accent everywhere it was not a problem anymore. I know this will not be the case here in US so I will just work on my accent, stay strong and try not to let those few mean people get to me.

In my opinion people are less welcoming to "different" accents here, in US, than people are in UK or Europe (not sure about rest of the world as I haven't been :-)). I think they are not as intuitive if it comes to trying to understand foreigners. I was surprised this is a big issue here too as there is a huge international community here in Orlando and a lot of tourists of course. I started wondering if it's me that's the problem, maybe my accent and pronunciation is that bad? Then I realised that it is the minority that's so ignorant and in general people are just curious and not used to it and ask where am I from or don't ask any questios and get on with life.

OP, if you are really worried about loosing customers maybe you shouldn't work on the phone if you are not feeling strong enough yet. I worked in a call centre and help desk in UK but I know for a fact I won't be doing any over the phone jobs in US anytime soon!

[Redflame2012 32]

Personally, I have no intention of changing my accent for anyone. If my husband was in England, I wouldn't expect him to lose his accent. I think speaking slowly usually does the trick. Still, everyone to their own opinion.

[lynndy38 64]

I have told my husband if I answer the phone I will be shortening the way I introduce myself as it's too much for people that aren't expecting to hear an English accent. I am going to slow down a bit and try remember to use the American words for things!!!

Theres no chance could I change my accent even if I wanted to, I am rubbish at mimicking accents.......I think I'd sound insulting if I tried to sound American!!!!!

I did have to go into work last week as a staff member was sick. Everyone was lovely, I have asked people to tell me to repeat anything they haven't understood........I totally freak the kids out though!!!!

[VanessaTony 3,567]

I have told my husband if I answer the phone I will be shortening the way I introduce myself as it's too much for people that aren't expecting to hear an English accent. I am going to slow down a bit and try remember to use the American words for things!!!

Theres no chance could I change my accent even if I wanted to, I am rubbish at mimicking accents.......I think I'd sound insulting if I tried to sound American!!!!!

I did have to go into work last week as a staff member was sick. Everyone was lovely, I have asked people to tell me to repeat anything they haven't understood........I totally freak the kids out though!!!!

Sounds like you're making progress! When I answer the phone I say the office name and "Vanessa speaking" and people still say "Who am i speaking with?" because I'm convinced when they hear an accent their brain switches off as they think "hey! Accent! i wonder where they're from?!" and don't listen to what i've said.

And yes kids!! haha. I had a kid say to me once "Why do you talk funny?". It was pretty funny 'cause kids don't know what the word "accent" means, so I just say I come from a different country.

I still trip up and use Aussie words for things but usually people ask me what it means and I apologise for saying the wrong word and they tell me not to be sorry, that it's cute.

[dansaly 1]

I understand how you feel linndy. I live in the heartland, the farm area, country rural side with very few immigrants within 50miles. With my Asian accent, people couldn't understand me at all. I live in Kuwait for 7 years before I came here and they speak English there. It was hard for me to understand them too with their Southern accent and slang. It took me about a year to be comfortable. I was really hesitant to work, to answer a phone or even to order something in the restaurant. The first few months I work in the hospital, I used to say, ' you may not understand me well because of my accent, just ask me again or tell if you couldn't understand me at all.' I finally stop when they told me that I speak fine and nothing was wrong with my English. Like others said, most people around our home probably never been abroad or exposed to immigrants. When we live in the big cities, east or west coasts, people don't have problem understand the foreign accents. Hang on there, you will be fine......:-)