When you’re in a foreign country, it’s considered rude to just march into a shop and immediately speak English. You’re supposed to act sheepish and awkward and begin timidly, and to try to communicate using a random collection of the few words you happen to know in the local language along with English words pronounced in a nonspecific foreign accent. “Pardonnez-moi, Madame, but avez-vous any aspirin aspeerini or some other quel-que chose parce-que because je have twisted mon ankle on a loose paving stone dans le rue? Por favor?”

The French have a reputation for being chilly and insulted when people do this, but the truth is they enjoy watching that awkward little dance. They will let you struggle for a few minutes, and just before helplessness overtakes you, they will step in with, “Would you prefer to speak English?” And not in a Pepe Le Pew accent, either. These days, the world is filled with people who have watched hours and hours of Friends and Game of Thrones. Go to a foreign country these days and you’re likely to hear a lot of vaguely English accents peppered with 1990s American slang. It’s actually a lovely mix.