After a while you get used to what to expect from ATC and that helps with reading back the pertinent information. Initially when I did some flying in the US my brain couldn't understand the messages because I didn't recognise 29.89 instead of 1020 and the use of point instead of decimal etc..
Not related but I've also noticed that when I drive in US I tend to look to the left for the rear-view mirror for a while until brain adjusts.