Discursive construction of British identity

Before I came to England, a lot of friends commented by saying, "Are you going to come back with a British accent?" Considering famous examples like Madonna (who developed one after being married to a Brit and living in the UK), I guess it's possible, but I still scoffed at the idea.

But now that I've lived here for over two months and am preparing to come home in less than a week, I've actually noticed that the way I speak has changed a bit -- not so much my pronunciation, but the type of words that I use and the way I construct sentences. Maybe I just sound more pretentious, or use the passive voice more. But here are a few examples that come to mind:

"Proper" -- Proper isn't a word I ever would have used in the United States. It always seemed to evoke the following stuffy imagery: a high-class family sitting around the dining table, and when the young daughter eats with the wrong type of fork, the grandmother angrily exclaims "That isn't proper!" Well, British people use the word proper about 50 times as much as us Americans. For example, to mean genuine or legitimate: "This is a proper meal" or "This is a proper restaurant." I've found myself using it a lot in everyday conversation, and sometimes catch myself and wonder why.

"Kind regards" at the end of a letter or e-mail -- I don't think I'd ever used this in the United States, but I'd say it's even more common than "Sincerely" here. When sending e-mails to my professors and other formal recipients, I've started writing that now without even thinking.

British people use the present perfect tense a lot more than Americans to describe events in the recent past. For example, if a friend calls and asks if I want to get dinner, I'm more likely to say "I've already eaten, I'm afraid" instead of "I already ate." Another example: "I've just arrived home" instead of "I just arrived home."

The subjects you study in school are maths, not math; sport, not sports. It's cookery book, not cookbook. What we call French fries, the British call chips. What we call chips, the British call crisps. Instead of knock on wood, British say touch wood. This things have all gotten me more than once.

Spelling is very different between the two countries. But my professors have said that I can turn in papers written in American English (color instead of colour, organization instead of organisation, etc) and they don't care. So I've been lazy with regards to adjusting to this issue.

Final note: If you come to the UK, don't use the term "fanny pack" to describe the bag you wear around your waist.