Lost in Anglais

Yesterday i attended a friend's birthday party in Avignon. It's always nice when i take a breather from classes and escape the sometimes hum drum life in Orange. Even though i wouldn't say Avignon is a large city it does have a vibrancy which can be attributed to the young people who live there. Us assistants have formed a pretty tight knit group but it's sort of like high school where there are several little cliques. This isn't because we are trying to create factions, i guess it's just easier to stick together when you reside in the same city or area and of course have similar personalities. Point being is that whenever i venture to Avignon i always have the chance to mingle with several non-American assistants. This variety includes assistants from England, Ireland, and Scotland. I'm finding that I'm learning more and more about myself through seemingly minor encounters such as these. It turns out that French isn't the only language I'm trying to grasp but European English as well. Now i hate to be that ignorant American but sometimes they can be really hard to understand :-S a lot harder than i had imagined anyway. I've always been a huge fan of BBC America and thought for the most part i could understand their accents, however i now know why they occasionally added subtitles.
It seems that no matter how hard i try to "fake" that I understand what they are talking about my blank look and constant "what"'s give me away. But it's not just their accents that perplex me it's their different vocab (Loo = Toilet, Boot = Trunk, Bin = Trash), Their sense of style (bright colors, crazy prints), and European humor (subtle and cynical). Don't get me wrong i am in no way trying to insult them, on the contrary i love our differences and i love the understanding that follows from discovering our differences. I guess i just find it amusing that we come from western societies and speak the same language but we couldn't be more different. I think that's what this trip has really shown me that i have so much more to learn about the world and i hope that i continue to get the opportunity to do just that.