I'm so sorry.

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Wow. That's a huge change in expectations, Fay. Could be worse, of course, it's just as well they're still honouring your contract. But that's a lot to absorb.

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Oh no Fay, I'm so sorry. Maybe you could stealthily implement the British curriculum, and teach it to the American kids. Heaven knows they'd likely benefit.

Well, I dunt really nor 'ar ter rayt it dahn, sithee. 't i'nt ar ah normally talk, missen, so it's a bit on an effort to type it rayt way withart mekkin a rayt prat o' missen.

Oh, I love this. Is "sithee" the same as see thee/you see, or is it see there, or something else?

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Wow, Fay! Um, wow. Good that they are honouring contracts, but...huh. You and flatmate wouldn't consider moving elsewhere?

James Herriot didn't do too badly with writing the Yorkshire dialect, I thought. Of course, I couldn't understand a thing anyone said my first two days in Yorkshire. After that, my ear adjusted and it was fine.

It was one of the very few times I haven't unconsciously started talking like the people around me, though, because I was just completely unable to. I go to Texas, I started askin' fer a pahce o' pah. In Malaysia, [teeth hiss] noh taxi lah! NSM in Yorkshire. Which is nice, because I hate it when I do that.

Just got back from Mal's first unscheduled trip to the doctor. He's been a bit under the weather, and got a really bad sore throat yesterday. I let it go, just doing him with baby Tylenol, but today he started to show a fever too. Looks like he's just got a little virus, poor thing. He sounds so hoarse!

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Oh, dear. Bless Mal! Poor wee scone!

Oh, I love this. Is "sithee" the same as see thee/you see

Yes. This.

...just emailed my flatmate. I wasn't going to steal the boss's thunder, but then I did. So we've had a slightly hysterical "Oh. My. God!" conversation, punctuated by much shell-shocked laughter. It'll work out, one way or another. I mean, I do appreciate that, as problems go, having a guaranteed income and some uncertainty about whether this will be earned by (a) teaching at a reputable school or (b) fannying around doing nothing isn't exactly a terrible problem.

And Flatmate was already busily making plans for taking a trip out into the White Desert in November, with "the boys" (our neighbour C, and our friend/now his boyfriend K). So the kind of problem where you're still planning holidays in the Sahara really isn't a huge problem, I realise. Just call me Marie Antoinette.

But, yes. Huge change in expectations. A lot to absorb.

On the plus side - conceivably a lot more time to work on my novel.

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I go to Texas, I started askin' fer a pahce o' pah. In Malaysia, [teeth hiss] noh taxi lah! NSM in Yorkshire. Which is nice, because I hate it when I do that.

Oh, I share your pain. I don't even need to go anywhere. I can meet one person from somewhere else, and start doing it. And because Bostonians have their own quirky accent, I even do it when an American with no discernable regional accent is in my presence (iow, I lose my own accent). I'm always afraid people will think I'm mocking them.

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Poor Mal! Hope the virus clears up soon.

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Just got back from Mal's first unscheduled trip to the doctor. He's been a bit under the weather, and got a really bad sore throat yesterday. I let it go, just doing him with baby Tylenol, but today he started to show a fever too. Looks like he's just got a little virus, poor thing. He sounds so hoarse!

Sorry I left this out of my previous post. Chris came in and started asking for breakfast and I posted before I was done, so I wouldn't lose what I had in the window. I hope it passes quickly for Mal. How old is he now, Raq?

So the kind of problem where you're still planning holidays in the Sahara really isn't a huge problem, I realise. Just call me Marie Antoinette.

No, I still understand why you'd feel a bit thrown by it all. Do you think he's telling the truth (or whole truth) about the electrical issue? It somehow seemed a bit I don't know what--not that exposure to high voltage electrical doohickeys may be carcinogenic. I've heard that many a time. It's just that I know bureaucracy (at least its American version) and when some potential problem isn't illegal or against regulations, it *may* eventually get addressed, but seldom is business delayed until it does.

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On the plus side - conceivably a lot more time to work on my novel.

Very big plus!

I don't even need to go anywhere. I can meet one person from somewhere else, and start doing it.

Yep.

I'm always afraid people will think I'm mocking them.

Exactly. And I'm not! What can I say, I'm a joiner.

But, even when using my own accent, I don't have a typical accent for my part of the world. Whenever I had to give a speech or something in high school, someone would invariably ask me if I was English. Not that I have anything like an English accent, but I pronounced my words, at least more so than do most folks from New Mexico. (Although, I may have pronounced ita "eeda." Once.)

Hey vw! Thanks. How is Toto?

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(Although, I may have pronounced ita "eeda." Once.)

Almost all of my middle-of-the-word T sounds come out like D sounds. It's something I have become conscious of, and have tried to correct in my day-to-day speech, apparently so much so, that now I'll occasionally hear Julia or Chris saying T sounds some words that actually do have D sounds in the middle (like "middle" for example).

Hey vw! Thanks. How is Toto?

Yes, how's Toto?

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