After clearing customs, I managed to get the rest of the way through the airport, through “the tube”, onto a train to the midlands, a taxi ride, and checked into my hotel with hardly any talking.
The front desk person dutifully told me that the restaurant was closed, but room service available (this is pre door dash, et. al.).
I got to my room and unpacked, with the TV playing in the background, as was my way back then and now. I did some stretching, and then decided to order some dinner.
I picked up the phone, dialed the room service number, and after I was greeted by a pleasant “Room Service?” I immediately felt my body wanting to reply with terribly Monty Python voice of American’s trying to sound British.
I couldn’t stop myself. I could just feel it wanting to happen.
So I hung up.
Confused, and somewhat alarmed because I had 3 days of corporate training to perform and that’s not going to go well if I have an accent trying to break out of me like a teenage boy’s voice breaking uncontrollably, I turned off the TV and tried practicing talking.
Even alone in my room, it took me a few minutes to try and get it under control. I grew up moving quite a bit between places with people from all over, so I don’t, myself, have a particularly stable accent. It was especially true when I was younger.
I finally worked myself up to remake that call to room service, and I managed to force myself speak with a right proper American accent…