Are we talking the same language?

Telling people we were moving to Washington, the response was universally the same - at least you speak the same language!

But do we?

From renting a car to asking for directions to the nearest supermarket it would have been easy to think that perhaps I was speaking goobledigook.

'Hello, could you tell me the way to the nearest supermarket?'
'Say what?'
'The nearest supermarket?'
'Supermarket?'

Maybe this is going to be trickier than I thought.  When I open my mouth to speak, you can see that 'Hank' or 'Mary Ellen' fully expects me to speak with an american accent of some denomination or other - an entirely reasonable assumption.

When I come out with an English accent, they initially look confused and can't immediately grasp what I am saying, which prompts me to repeat myself, slooowwwly.  That confusion then gives way to a strange schmaltzy look, accompanied with some variation of 'oooh I lurve your accent'.

I knew some of the terms would be different - gas instead of petrol, band-aid instead of plaster, soda in place of fizzy pop, but when Simon told people at work he was just going to get his jumper, little did he know that they expected him to come back wearing a girls' pinnafore dress.

Oh, the perils of a common language!