My Accent

The following blog post was written on the afternoon of the 7th of August while in Cape Town!

One thing that I am excited about upon returning to the U.S. is people being able to understand what I am saying. As a Minnesotan I have been told that I have an accent many times during my travels throughout the United States, but South Africa is a little different. Here is a transcript of a typical conversation I’ve had while in Africa:

Dana: Excuse me, do you have a toilet?
Waiter: Hum, a toilet?
Dana: Yes, a toilet.
Waiter: Ohhh, you mean a toilet! Yes, we do…

Ok, I know this sounds silly, but it has happened numerous times. This is just an example, so many times during the last weeks people have had trouble understanding my think American accent.

There are two interesting facts:

First: the way that they said “toilet” was not that different than the way I said it
Second: they watch a great deal of American TV, so it is hard to believe they didn’t understand what I was saying