She says “water” with a British accent. He says “water” with a New York accent. But the two new staffers in Rep. José Serrano’s (D-N.Y.) office seem to understand each other just fine.

Between them, Carla M. Coley and Fitz Restituyo have lived in Chile, the Dominican Republic, the U.K., Italy and Puerto Rico before landing in Washington. They both say they have found a home in 2227 Rayburn.

Coley, 22, is the office’s new staff assistant and scheduler. Restituyo, 22, is a new legislative correspondent and legislative assistant. Both started working for Serrano as interns.

“It’s a very professional, but for lack of a better phrase, it’s just a cool place to be,” says Restituyo, looking congressional in a light blue shirt and royal blue tie. “I like the staffers, I like the environment. It’s very positive.”

As if to illustrate the point, the congressman himself pops his head into the cramped room where Coley and Restituyo sit.

“You guys are both fired,” Serrano jokes. Coley and Restituyo respond with relaxed laughter.

Coley, wearing a black denim dress and brown high heels, explains that she was born in the U.K. to an English father and Puerto Rican mother. She stayed there until age 7, then went to Puerto Rico for a few years. After that, it was back to England before making the transatlantic move to study comparative literature at Brown University. She also spent a summer in Italy learning Italian.  

Coley, a dual citizen, says she has been very warmly received on the Hill.

“I wouldn’t say I feel completely American, but I don’t feel like an outsider,” she says. “I mean, sometimes I’ll get, ‘Oh, you say water differently.’ ”

“People also point out I say ‘water’ differently,” Restituyo interjects. “I’m from New York.”

Restituyo is from New York — Serrano’s Bronx district — but the Georgetown University graduate was born in the Dominican Republic. He came to the U.S. just before starting first grade. At Georgetown, he studied culture and politics and studied abroad in Chile. Now he helps Serrano with agriculture, arts and housing policy.

One of the office’s running jokes is Restituyo’s questionable allegiance to the New York Yankees.

Serrano’s head appears yet again, this time from a different door. He says of Restituyo, “He makes fun of my briefcase,” holding up a crushed black bag emblazoned with a Yankees logo. Serrano accuses Restituyo of being a Boston Red Sox fan. Restituyo, smiling, claims he has been “misquoted” around the office and offers this defense: “The best advice I’ve heard on the Hill is, ‘Once you find yourself in a hole, stop digging.’ ”

Coley chuckles and says of this whole baseball thing, “I’m English. I don’t follow baseball.”

She does enjoy art and culture. When she is not answering phones, overseeing Serrano’s schedule, helping sort mail or doing other odd jobs around the office, she likes to museum-hop.

“I love that the museums [in Washington] are free,” she says. “I’m such a museum person, and I’m kind of obsessed with going to the Smithsonian.”

Restituyo also has a hobby, which he calls a “kind of geeky project.”

“I want to read the biographies of all the presidents,” he says.

Neither is certain what the future holds — possibly law school for both, hopefully more government work for Restituyo. Coley’s goals are not as concrete.

“This is going to sound trite,” she says. “But I’m a college graduate, and I want to change the world.”