When most people meet me for the first time, the first comment is usually, “Wow. You are tall”. The second is usually the question, “Where are you from”? The second question is usually asked because people have difficulty picking the exact nature of my accent. For good reason, I should say.

The accent comes with international living and an ex-pat life. I was born in Holland to Dutch parents. I say dutch but my mother was born in the Dutch West Indies and never really spent many years living in Holland.

Being only six months old we moved to Hong Kong for six years and of, course, spoke English. Six years later we moved again to Taiwan where I attended American primary and High schools and picked up an American accent. Eight years later we moved again to Melbourne where it took almost twenty years for my accent to wear off and become more Australian English. Twenty years later we moved again to the Netherlands and primarily spoke dutch at work. After twenty-five years we moved again to Griffith Australia. So yes, my accent is unique.