Could the eagle be winning??

Could I possibly be becoming more and more American without even realizing it? Those first months after moving here permanently seem such a long time ago now and the battles to assimilate new customs, traditions and just plain make myself understood have faded to a dim memory. The fear of driving somewhere on the right-hand side of the road, amongst streets and freeways I had no knowledge of, to stores that had unfamiliar sounding names, has disappeared like the mist in a brilliant sun.

America was quite a fearful place, where people not only spoke with a strange accent, but to my mind, spoke the most appalling English. I flew from Melbourne, Australia to Los Angeles, then on to San Francisco. In Los Angeles I thought I may have boarded the wrong plane back in Australia. Why, oh, why were all the signs in Spanish, a language I didn't speak, nor understand at all? I shook my head in disbelief and somehow managed to find my way to the correct gate for San Francisco. My excitement was quite palpable as I had flown out of a drizzly, wet Autumn Melbourne day to a sun-filled, sweet-smelling Spring day in the Northern Hemishere. I was greeted at the airport by the man I loved, who had filled most of the house with flowers to welcome me. Life was gong to be so perfect, in this land of the great bald eagle.

Anyone who migrates to another country permanently, knows that there will be hardship and adjustment. I was fully prepared for this (or thought I was) but I had never factored in that people wouldn't understand the way I spoke, nor me understand them. Surely this was a English speaking nation and there wouldn't be too many differences??? More than anything the grammatical incorrectness jarred me constantly. Nobody used adverbs at all!! Drive slow, walk quick - where was the -ly?? Things weren't broken, but broke, which conjured up a vision of a washing machine with no money......... People were having the funnest day, bestest dinners and a lunch date had been so fun. If it is possible for one's ears to hurt without an earache, mine did.

When it came to writing checks, I wanted to scratch out check and use a cheque, queues were lines, and a term like off of the freeway just sounded plain wrong. Phone calls were impossible to make because area codes changed every few miles, and not knowing the layout of where I was living, how could I know which area code belonged to a store or a person. This was well before the internet and Google, and The Yellow Pages only covered one's immediate area within the one area code. How would I even get a phone book with different area codes?? When asked how people were, they were good. I thought that referred to their character not health, and was totally confused, even though I assumed they were telling me they felt well.

And so the years passed as I assimilated, quite quickly, as it turns out. So many wonderful, generous people have entered my life here in the United States. I gained confidence in my driving on the "wrong" side of the road, obtained a GPS just for good measure, moved to a small town, just like in the movies, joined clubs of all kinds, and generally felt like a native. I drive slow, and every now and then, when I don't concentrate and someone asks me how I am, I say "I'm good!!". As yet I haven't driven off of the freeway, nor taken the glass off of the table, but I am sure that is only temporary and one day I will. My ears don't hurt any more and I believe it is totally because the American people are speaking better English than they did when I landed here. They are a wonderful people, these Americans. They welcome strangers and make them feel at home, always with a bright smile and a cheery "Have a nice day!".

This great land is my home now and I have a deep love for it. It has grown on me, enveloped me and treated me kindly as well as given me some of the most wonderful friends a person could ever hope to meet. At a time in the world when so many people like to criticize the US, I want to acknowledge my growing love, admiration and respect for a country I now call home.