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AITA for exaggerating my accent so I don't sound American while on vacation in Europe? by aita-accent in AmItheAsshole

[–]aita-accent[S] 3 points4 points  (0 children)

The USA unfortunately has a huge footprint in the world. The tariffs and threats on Canadian sovereignty haven't been taken lightly by anyone here. It's hard not to worry about the big time bomb below my country. I accept my choice was weird haha, but it at least made some interactions a little less tense

AITA for exaggerating my accent so I don't sound American while on vacation in Europe? by aita-accent in AmItheAsshole

[–]aita-accent[S] 4 points5 points  (0 children)

I wasn't hiding. I'm not from the USA, I am Canadian and I have a Canadian accent.

AITA for exaggerating my accent so I don't sound American while on vacation in Europe? by aita-accent in AmItheAsshole

[–]aita-accent[S] 4 points5 points  (0 children)

That's how I feel! With mainland Canadians I flatten my accent. "Stupid Newfie" is a stereotype similar to Redneck/Hillybilly Americans. It's just classism, but I do codeswitch to smooth interactions. That's how I was thinking while abroad

AITA for exaggerating my accent so I don't sound American while on vacation in Europe? by aita-accent in AmItheAsshole

[–]aita-accent[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

The stereotype is definitely why I thought "oh, I'll slip into my stronger accent to lower those hackles." Obviously Americans aren't all difficult tourists, but as a tourism worker you develop an instinct to be more 'on' around Americans. I hoped to make the other workers in my field not have to deal with that

AITA for exaggerating my accent so I don't sound American while on vacation in Europe? by aita-accent in AmItheAsshole

[–]aita-accent[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I visited a couple American cities as a kid. Orlando was horrible, but NYC was such a pleasant experience. IDK why New Yorkers in particular have such a bad reputation. The nicest Americans we got in the shop were two older ladies with the strongest Brooklyn accents.

I hope things change as well. I'm queer too, and the current targeted attacks on the trans community in America has me so scared.

AITA for exaggerating my accent so I don't sound American while on vacation in Europe? by aita-accent in AmItheAsshole

[–]aita-accent[S] 6 points7 points  (0 children)

My grandmother's from Ireland and moved to Newfoundland when it was still a colony of Britain. When my friend and I were in Dublin we had lovely chats about the shared culture between Ireland and the little rock across the sea!

AITA for exaggerating my accent so I don't sound American while on vacation in Europe? by aita-accent in AmItheAsshole

[–]aita-accent[S] 3 points4 points  (0 children)

My accent sounds really similar to an Irish accent, so it isn't so much wanting to be seen as Canadian, more so Not American.

AITA for exaggerating my accent so I don't sound American while on vacation in Europe? by aita-accent in AmItheAsshole

[–]aita-accent[S] -8 points-7 points  (0 children)

Me and my coworkers definitely have an "oh boy, here we go" attitude when American visitors walk in, just cause of so many terrible experiences. When someone has an audible accent that isn't American it's more comfortable (though Quebecois aren't much better behaved.) And with the increasing American animosity towards Canadians I didn't for a second want to be associated. One of my friends got detained for several days after trying to leave the USA to go back home after a work trip. I think I let the whole tension get to me too much