Learning Swedish in Sweden

would be easy, no? Or at least easier than anywhere else, given that it's not exactly a widely spoken language (no offense, modern Vikings! Don't come rampaging at me!). There's just one small problem:

I also speak English.

Don't get me wrong. Living abroad in a country where you can always switch back to English, especially for important things, is amazing. I don't know how I would describe our cat's recent digestive problems otherwise--maybe with a dictionary, hand gestures, and half an hour? But there's a small catch to this. I can speak enough Swedish now that when I'm at a restaurant or store, I don't begin in English, and most of the time, even if I don't literally understand what's being said, the meaning is pretty clear. So I do okay.

But if the conversation ever turns to my origins (such as when I was telling the nice woman in the bakery line why I'd forgotten to take a number, something a Swede would NEVER forget to do), then it's all over. Just like that, we're back to English, even though they were understanding me perfectly well just ten seconds before. (Or, if not perfectly well, then definitely on the second time. I'm still getting the hang of this language's stress-patterns.) 

I get it, I do. They're being kind and welcoming, speaking to me in my native tongue. They're also, on a slightly more selfish note, usually pretty psyched at the chance to practice their own (pretty much always) impeccable foreign language. Why I, as a practice opportunity, am so critical, though, I don't totally get--I understood it in China, knowing that most people wouldn't get any closer to an English-speaking country than Hong Kong. But here? Movies aren't ever dubbed, so long as the audience is assumed to be literate. (So for Brave, we're going to have to look for an English version, but that's it.) And there are plenty of expats and tourists around who DON'T speak any Swedish and have to lean on their English.

So yeah...I guess what I'm saying, Sweden, is that I'm going to do my best to learn enough of your language that you won't see through me immediately to my own. Fortunately for me, this is one of the few places in the world where I can pass as a local without much effort. Being blond is, for once, not a liability when it comes to disguise. Maybe I'll start saying I'm from somewhere way up north, across the Arctic Circle and near the Finnish border, which might explain my odd accent. 

(But I'm going to speak English at the vet for another few months, okay? I realize it's having my cake and eating it too, but jag har två katter, och jag vet inte hur man sayer "diarrhea.")