Now, this would have been good to have discovered before traveling overseas. Think of it! Before visiting the unbelievably beautiful city of Stockholm, I could have learned a little more of what the natives were saying!
Actually, I did try to learn some Swedish before I left, much to the indulgent amusement of my Swedish friend.
No, he's really Swedish. Blonde. Seriously hot. Waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay out of my league. So far out of my league, I don't even know the name of his league. I'm not entirely certain where the games are even held. There might be uniforms. I'm not sure.
Anyway.
My Swedish friend told me, not unkindly, that trying to learn Swedish was probably not the best use of my time, as there was almost no way I'd get the vowels right. I'd sound like I was talking baby-talk to the Swedes. Amusing, sure. But useful? Not so much.
I tried anyway. And I walked up to a ticket window outside a beautiful tourist attraction in this phenomenal city and said, "Hej." This, I was told, is "hello" in Swedish. The young woman blinked and said,
"May I help you?"
in clear, perfect English.
I sighed and asked her, "What gave me away? Because I listened to the tapes. I think I sounded pretty good." She nodded to the small book I held. "Well, the Stockholm guide in English was a clue."
Dammit. I should have started with a good curse word!
Snicker.
ReplyDeleteMight have been nice to know but...where's the fun in that?
Got traveling feet again?
Jag tycker du gjorde ett fantastiskt jobb med den svenska du trots allt lärde dig.
ReplyDeleteOch neeej (nooo), jag är inte snygg, jag är spektakulärt vacker.. ;-)
It's TRUE!! You are spectacularly beautiful!
ReplyDeleteAnd awww.....thank you!