First off, I am terribly sorry for having let this site go but I was on vacation for a week and then was hanging out with my dad and brother who were wonderful and made the trip all over the big blue ocean just to see me!!!!!!! So I spent my week winter break in Scotland and England and all I can say is I love that island. First they had Starbucks. I know, I know, it is a horrible world-wide organisation that is throwing mom-and-pop coffee shops out on the street, but have you had a carmel frappocino? I mean really, who can deny themselves that after trying it? They are sinful they are so good. And it was just so nice to speak to someone and not have to think out the entire conversation before doing so, though we still had problems with people understanding us. It appears that no one in England or Scotland is really from England or Scotland. Everywhere we went, be it our hostels, restaurants, or museums, the person rarely appeared to be a native english speaker. That just seemed so strange and it became a problem because those people had all learned "British English" (said with your nose turned up and a slightly snooty accent) and we spoke "americn english" (said with a disgusted look but still the snooty accent), which these people just were not accustomed to. Finally, one night, we just started speaking to the waiter in French because he was from one of France's old african colonies.
Conclusion: if you want to be understood, stick to the US and learn a lot of languages if you go to england 'cause no one really speaks english.