Languages and Linguistics

I joke that for the first two years no one could understand me when I spoke, not even my French teacher when I was speaking French. I was highly motivated to lose my accent, which took several years. For a long time after, I'd occasionally say a word that would allow some one to identify me as being originally from New York. That disappeared several decades ago. I think my current accent is more or less neutral/middle America. At least people have no trouble understanding me.