omitting of

Hehehe . . . that cannot always be said of Americans.

Other things that happen are family saying "You want to go to Britain? What language do they speak there?" or "If you marry that British guy, you'll have to give up your US citizenship!" or "Do they have the internet over there?" etc etc (you can probably imagine some more). One of my favourites was the mother who arrived at Heathrow (a London airport) and thought she could get a taxi to North Wales where her daughter was.

She probably could have, but who could afford the fare?

It would be the equivalent of hundreds of dollars. A taxi based in North Wales would take someone to Heathrow for around 250 pounds (383 USD) but a London black cab would maybe charge twice as much for the reverse journey, if the driver wanted the job.

The French the Senegalise speak is a lot easier to understand than that spoken by the French.

West Africans have a habit of making it up as they go along. If they don't know a particular locution, they'll just make one up. I greatly enjoyed the company of the West Africans i knew.

I know someone on A2K who used a conversation with a London taxi driver to try to put me right about what people really thought over here. He then told me how the taxi driver had to go the long way to Heathrow because he needed to buy special petrol not available at most petrol stations. Of course he wouldn't believe me when I told him there was no special petrol. I was lying, and he gave the cabbie a generous tip on top of the fare.

Most Africans are really lovely. Somalis can be crazy though. I had a Somali friend who couldn't buy alcohol in our local pub because he went super crazy after just one pint. When he was sober he was smashing.

I was going to Bury StEdmunds and had planned to fly to Heathrow. I figured out it would take about 2 1/2 hours and cost little over 60 pounds by
trains, bus and taxi. Not calculating problems with the tube.
Flew to Stansted took a taxi and it was 70 pounds and took less than an hour.
And so much more comfortable.
Had about the same experience regarding Dartford. Trains did not run the day when I flew back. Had to take a taxi from Dartford to Heathrow. Faster and not much more expensive than going via London.
This time I flew to Edinburgh took the bus to Glasgow. Fast, cheap and perfect.

Stansted is a far better bet if you're going to Bury St. Edmonds. I normally go via Gatwick. (Not to Bury St. Edmonds.)

Hmmm... maybe if you aren't used to hearing French. A native French speaker might hear a degree of over-articulation, rather like the way some Africans speak English. I saw a great set by Youssou N'Dour at a WOMAD in the 80s.

They still chew khat round our way even though it's supposed to be banned. It's under the counter at the Somali greengrocers I pass every day, according to a Somali taxi driver I rode with last week.

I'm surprised - Dartford has 3 lines to London - the North Kent Line, via Woolwich Arsenal, the Bexleyheath Line and the Dartford Loop Line via Sidcup. The typical off peak service is 14 trains per hour to London.

We have had strikes though, and line closures. Saab may have picked a bad day to visit.

My friend brought me khat. A carrier bag full of the stuff, I had to chew about a pound of the stuff to feel anything. Its analgesic effect wasn't strong enough to fix my aching jaw though. I won't be doing that again.

The day before I had to leave I found out that there were no trains what so ever until 14.00 hours. My flight left around 13:00 hours.
The only solution was a taxi.

I once found myself in a pub here in Korea sitting between two guys from the UK (don't remember where). When they spoke directly to me, they modified their speech so I could understand them easily. But they gradually started talking around/past me to each other. For probably half an hour I didn't understand hardly a "fooking" word. Finally, I told one of them to switch seats with me so they could carry on while I watched TV.

On the flip side, if it had been me and another guy from the US Deep South with one UK'er, it would've been the same. Only different.

And I had a bad day gettting there in the first place.
Wanted to take the train from Heathrow to Paddington and that day they did not run - at least not when I wanted them.
Took the tube and tried to call or send a sms to the person waiting at Paddington. No luck. Had to ask somebody in the tube to send a sms hoping it would be accepted.
The tube I was in did not go to Victoria Station where I was going from to Dartford and the tube did not go there.

I have had similar experiences in Maine. In addition, i've been hard of hearing all my life, which doesn't help matters. Some people from the coastal region of the Carolinas and Georgia seem to be speaking a different language, although, for my part i am able to decipher their speech. Some people i've met in South Carolina profess not to be able to easily understand what the coastal islanders are saying.

Dlowan tells the tale of the first time she came to the United States, with a friend. They were in Washington Square Park and saw a squirrel, a creature unknown in Oz. They asked a police officer what the animal was, but couldn't understand the reply--they finally had to ask him to spell it for them. I laugh whenever i think of that--i can just hear a native of Brooklyn saying the word.