I had a bizarre encounter today. I went to see the travel agent to start the preliminary work for my next trip, this time the destination is Botswana.

The young lady travel agent I usually speak to (I can’t believe I have a usual travel agent) wasn’t available but by the name tag, the lady I did speak to, is her mother. Nice lady.

We started the conversation with the usual exchange of pleasantries and then she asked how she could help. All rather normal so far. After giving her a rundown on what I was after she asked “Where was Gaborone?”.

This is usual for me, I’ve visited some strange places so I’m used to travel agents not knowing where they’re sending me, and me having to explain how I wish to get where I’m going. I get a small thrill (very small) knowing I’m going somewhere off the beaten path. Taking the road less travelled is the way I try to live my life...but I digress.

After explaining that Gaborone (the G is pronounced as an H) is the capital of Botswana and that I’ll need a South African Air flight from Johannesburg after arriving via Singapore she said “Do you come from there?”.

This threw me for a moment but I gathered my wits, where they had fallen to the floor like a scattered deck of cards, and asked her what she meant? She had assumed I had come from somewhere on the African continent because of the twang in my voice. Now that stunned me to silence for about fifteen-seconds (the floor bestrewn with cards again) and I sat there blinking like a mouse in flour bag, which embarrassed her a little I think.

Now, I’m the first to admit that I pick up an accent extremely easily - embarrassingly so at times - but outside of any foreign influence, I didn’t think I had any accent other than an Australian one.

So I throw this open to the people I speak to everyday, or at least regularly... Do I speak with an accent of any kind?

It seems a perfect stranger thinks I do. How odd.

Tags: travel