We have no accent

Wherever I have lived in the world, people there think they have no accent.

When I moved to New England and started junior high, Bryan quickly became a new friend. His mom was born in Quebec and grew up speaking that brand of French. My dad was born in Waco, Texas and grew up speaking that brand of English.

I always thought his mom had a thick accent. He always thought my dad did. Both of us thought our parents had no accent whatsoever. It's all about perception - and exposure. We get so used to hearing or seeing something that we no longer hear or see it. (Or if we grew up hearing or seeing it, we may never know it's different than others' experiences.)

So just remember that if you think it looks like that, it may not look like that to others.

Fiercely monolingual

In the USA we speak one language. English.

Yes, in reality, there are literally thousands of language that are spoken in the States. But our governments recognize only one.

This is changing - I see more and more packaging that is in Spanish and English.

I would suggest that we should be open to more languages being OK here. It is just part of accepting other cultures.

(The envelope is a return from Canada - note the words on the label. I sent some goodies to some friends in Vancouver, and I forgot that they had moved. Anyhow, even though Vancouver has few French speakers, all of Canada is bi-lingual in the eyes of the government.)