Say something!

"Oh, and this is our new resident, Mum. She's American! Listen to how she talks. Quick, say something." This is how one of my boarders introduced me to her mother today. Needless to say, having an American resident living in their house is something of a novelty to most of the girls at Abbotsleigh. Something as simple as saying my name, Ms. McCarther, starts off an immediate reaction--all of the girls repeating after me and taking special care to emphasize the hard "r" in the middle. And just yesterday, some of the boarders came up to me to verify whether it was "America" or "Americar" as some Australians are apt to say. I've even made a deal with one of the girls that in exchange for teaching her how to talk like an American, she will teach me to speak like an Aussie.
The "language barrier" really is quite small, though, here in Sydney. You're more likely to hear the infamous Crocodile Dundee accent out in the bush than here in the city. Most of the Aussies I've come across sound far more British than what's portrayed on American television. Still, it's an infectious little accent and even in the week I've been here I've noticed that the cadence of my speech has begun to change and words like "out" have started to sound more like "eowt." Part of it has to do with the fact that I spend a good amount of hours in the office each day chatting with my fellow residents and boarding directors all of whom are Australian. And of course, you hear it on television and on the train announcements and at uni and suddenly, hearing yourself talk sounds foreign and abrasive and you unconsciously began to change your "r's" to "ah's." The American accent really does sound harsh when up against the softer Australian accent. I'm trying to avoid sounding too Australian, though, as then people might assume that I know more than I actually do.
I've also started to pick up more of the Australian lingo. Things like doona (comforter), jumper (pullover/sweater), pram (stroller), and biscuits (cookies) are all slowly filtering into my vocabulary. Not without a bit of comedy involved, of course. I mean, doona sounds like some kind of animal, doesn't it? I definitely wouldn't want one on top of my bed and certainly not to sleep underneath!
So far, however, my biggest mistake hasn't involved language so much as a little part of our American culture--sororities. I made the mistake of telling the girls that I was in one in college. This information was not given out freely; a bunch of boarders had seen The House Bunny and wanted to ask a real, live American if the sorority life depicted in the movie was accurate. In explaining just what sorority life entailed, it slipped out that I was a member of Alpha Xi Delta. It simply snowballed from there. The next thing I knew word had spread to the year 7 and 8s that a real sorority girl was living on their campus and speculations were being made as to whether or not I was also a cheerleader (they don't really have them here). Because, of course, in the movies all sorority girls are also cheerleaders. Now, whenever I see a year 9 or 10 girl, I'm greeted with crossed pointer fingers and a pointed pinky (the "Xi" sign) and exclamations of "Alpha Xi Delta!" I'm attempting to convince the boarders to create their own sorority for McCredie House but, seeing as they're all teenage girls, I'm sure their enthusiasm will fade over the next week. (Let's all hope!)