Brain explosion

In Athens the first week, Stacey and I converse in English and I have little contact with the Greek language.
I stutter and stumble over my words when buying a train ticket....

In Larisa with the relatives, I shift into Greek mode and my English language skills lag behind.
My Greek vocab and fluency expand exponentially and I notice that no one remarks on my accent (a common occurence during my last visit here eight years ago).
Some days later, I ring an old friend from Sydney and she hurtles English sentences at me.
What? eh? um? I'm lost for words at this unexpected barrage. It takes me a few moments to realise she's speaking English to me and the gears crank slowly into motion as I shift back into my native tongue so that we can converse with each other.....