Non-native English speakers are actually who I prefer talking to in person, as I generally understand them better. Sometimes it can be a little difficult over the phone, though due to distortions caused by the technology. I will admit, though, I do have some difficulty understanding those with a strong Russian (or related) accent, and much easier times with either a Mexican or oriental accent (any of the Chinese languages, Japanese, Korean...) With native English speakers, (especially within a similar local variant of American) people tend to read things in to what I'm saying that aren't there. For example, when I worked in a call center, there was a recent policy change that said any time a person was disputing their bill, the call needed to be escalated to a manager. My boss was confused why I kept trying to give her these calls. It boiled down to differences in definition. I saw it as if a customer is confused about charges, I explain them, and they say they aren't right, that's disputing the bill. Simple as that. She was seeing it as the above, but also the customer showing significant anger/threats... as well. She always wondered why I didn't control the call, and let it get to the point of being a dispute. I never really understood why she kept asking me this. I have no control over when someone says their bill is wrong. This was around the same time as one of my co-workers suggested to me that I may be an aspie.