Set Up Like A Deck Of Cards

Do you speak English? Well I do, so…

At work today, I had to speak to a couple of companies in Stockholm.  I spoke to maybe seven different people in one hour and every one of them answered the phone in Swedish.

Every time, my opening line was “Hi, do you speak English?” and every time the person I was speaking to immediately switched to perfect English.

There was one lady I spoke to who, when I asked if she could speak English, sounded quite embarassed and said, “a little bit.”  She had a strong Swedish accent, but I could understand her perfectly.  The fact that she seemed to think that her English wasn’t good enough killed me and I made a point of telling her how good it was before we finished talking.

It was pretty damn impressive and it made me feel useless for only knowing the minimum amount of French and German it is possible to know.  I wish I’d learned a second language when I was younger.