Had a professor in college from the UK. I was completely confused listening to his accent all semester, as I could never place it. I'd worked with a group of pe

Had a professor in college from the UK. I was completely confused listening to his accent all semester, as I could never place it. I'd worked with a group of people from all over -- Southhampton, Liverpool, London, etc -- so I knew the different accents. Finally one day I broke down and asked him about it. Turned out his dad had been in the military and he'd never lived in any one place for very long, so his accent was a jumble. I am a born and raised Cascadian. That said, years ago I heard Californians call it "the 5" and thought it was brilliant, so I started using it. Friends in both Oregon and Washington give me the stink eye for adopting this foreign style of speech, but it's all in good humor. Just to really mess with people, I really like to say "cheers" in place of "thank you" too. Adds some international charm to their day.