Wow! It came in handy.

I can't think of any situations atm where knowing Finnish came in handy, but I can remember several times when I've shocked people by knowing the language. And other times friends and I have had fun with it. :)

At a party one time, people knew I was a foreigner. They hadn't had enough drinks yet to be brave enough to try and talk to me (in English) and so one of the guys was asking my friend questions about me.. She kept trying to tell them that I understood and to ask me, but he didn't. Eventually he said something about me and I just answered him in Finnish. He got very embarrassed and wouldn't look or talk to me the rest of the evening. lol

Another time the same friend and I arrived at a bus stop where there was a couple of guys. We, being the silly girls we are, decided that my friend who is Finnish was Swedish and I the American I am (so neither of us was supposed to speak Finnish). The guys were joking (and talking about us in Finnish) and trying to say things for us to respond in Finnish to prove that we understood, but we just kept pretending we didn't understand. We had a good giggle about it later on.

LOL!

I remember being in Bali with a very good French friend of mine who had been living here for a couple of years by then. It was the summer, and there were a lot of French tourists. At one restaurant he hid his face behind the menu and said, "Polo shirt + boat shoes = French. Let's pretend we don't speak French at all and just speak Indonesian so that they don't start speaking to us!"

That's funny, Poppy. I feel that way sometimes too. There are times when I just don't want to deal with people in Finnish.

Like a drunk person asking for money, I'll pretend I don't understand and only speak in English. Although, some will try English. :( I'll also sometimes be a pain at a store and refuse to speak Finnish, especially if I am complaining. I want to make sure they understand me!

Touts in touristy areas like Jogya or Bali will often speak a handful of languages - just slightly more than enough to be able to sell, including negotiating prices.

In Jogya one day near a temple, this woman wanted to sell my friend a t-shirt, speaking in English since we were speaking in English. The t-shirt was rather dinky and too expensive. G asked my opinion in French, and I told him what I thought in French. The woman's face grew indignant, and she offered a new price in French LOL.