It’s always interesting to see how many people abroad can utter at least some words of Swedish. I say “utter,” because I’m not even surprised anymore at how many people actually can speak Swedish. Their degrees of proficiency vary wildly, that’s for sure, but Swedish is no longer a secret language in which you can gossip with your friend about that fat lady with a camel toe waiting to cross the street. Chances are, the lady and the camel toe can also understand Swedish.

That’s exactly what happened to me last Friday. Except that the lady didn’t sport a camel toe, because she was sitting behind a desk at one of the local governmental offices. I was picking up some useless papers and waiting for even more useless stamps. I was complaining about it in Swedish to my companion. The lady looked up from behind her desk and said to no one in particular - “jävla Svenssons” (bloody Swedes). Needless to say, we shut up and waited quietly for our turn.

Later, because I’m a dork who still sends postcards home, we went to a dinky little post office to buy stamps. The woman there took one look at “Sverige” in the address and responded “Ah! Jättebra! Min syster bor i Sverige.” (Great! My sister lives in Sweden.)

This was getting spooky.

Throughout the day I heard even more Swedish coming from random strangers. A Belgian guy said proudly, “I can say something in Swedish!” and proceeded with “Jag älskar dig!” (I love you.) We heard friendly shouts of “Skål!” (cheers!) in the evening and grateful thanks of “Tack!” (thank you).

I am no longer surprised when I hear odd words of Swedish abroad. And believe me, Swedish can be heard all over the place. In Poland it’s almost expected to have someone try to chat you up in Swedish if they hear you speaking this language. But on the beaches in The Gambia? Or on the streets of Phuket? True, both places are popular destinations for Swedish tourists, but trust me, the first time you hear Gambian bum boys or Thai hustlers address you in Swedish, you will feel a bit odd. And while at first, they may know only a few chosen words to attract attention, they are very quick learners – they know where their business is coming from. I’ve met some that after one tourist season speak better Swedish than many immigrants after years of SFI (Svenska för Invandrare).

Keep that in mind when you’re off to exotic lands this winter to escape the cold.