Accents
Sometimes I don`t know if people are just trying to be nice when they tell me that I have a really good accent. I guess I try to imitate what I hear so that I don`t stick out too horribly, but at times, it just doesn`t work. People are always asking "Where are you from?" and I definitely get tired of it. I feel like I tell my recent history to everyone and their mom just about every other day. It used to be kind of fun, but now that I am managing quite well, actually have a life here and didn`t just get off the plane yesterday- it is just irritating.But as the Australian-Chilean told me at one point- I am always going to have an accent. Lucky him- he grew up in between Santiago and I don`t remember where in Australia, so he is fluent in both languages and has the corresponding accent.
But I guess that having an accent is helpful in some ways- like when I say something incorrectly or act culturally out of context-because the people will then just chalk it up to me being a gringa. And if I had a perfect Chilean accent, then they would assume that I was Chilean and therefore think that I am stupid for not knowing how to conjugate verbs properly or use the subjunctive tense at appropriate times.
So Jorge was right- it might be impossible for me hide my gringa roots and I have come to accept that. Besides- I am not Chilean, so there really isn`t a need for people to think that I am.
If you think about it, every region in the US has their own accent- from NY to Georgia to yes, even CA. And if Jorge were to go to the US, he would stick out just as much as I do here. But I guess that is what makes life interesting- being different and learning to accept that fact. So the next time someone makes a comment on my accent and asks me where I am from, I`ll have to remind myself that they are just interested in knowing where I am from and about me and I shouldn`t get irritated. After all, that is the reason why I am here...
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