Living in the middle of the United States, a thousand miles from any other country, there is little need to learn a foreign language. Yes, America is a melting pot full of people who speak an astonishingly wide variety of languages, but anywhere you go in the United States, English will be understood and spoken by an overwhelming majority.

In Europe, on the other hand, in an area smaller than the United States, there are at least 24 different official languages and many more which are dominant in smaller areas or that have unofficial status. This, combined with the fact that English is becoming an increasingly important global language, leads to multilingualism being a fact of life in most of Europe, far more than it is in the United States.

Where I am currently living in Alicante, on the southeastern coast of Spain, there are a LOT of foreigners, including tourists, people who live here for part of the year and expats who live here all year. Because most of these tourists are from Northern Europe- and because they are so numerous- pretty much everyone who works a service job in the more touristy parts of Alicante speaks at least some English.

This was a bit jarring when I first got here. I had come to work on my Spanish, and so it was a bit disheartening when people at cafes, hotels, etc. spoke to me only in English upon seeing my blue eyes and pasty complexion. One time, on a day trip to a nearby city, I went to a restaurant in what is, admittedly, a very touristy part of town. I began in Spanish. The (Spanish) waiter responded to me in English. I continued to speak in Spanish; he continued to respond in English. Eventually I switched to English, finished ordering and he hadn’t understood anything I said.

A couple of weeks ago, I went on a weekend trip to Stockholm, Sweden. I speak no Swedish, so I was hoping that at least some people would speak English. I was blown away — every single person we interacted with, including multiple people who were not service workers, had an extremely high level of English.

In Spain, many signs are bilingual, but few people — aside from service workers — speak much English. In Sweden, almost no signs are bilingual but nearly everybody (according to polls, up to 90%) speaks English well.

After what I’ve seen in various parts of Europe, it definitely seems to be true that English is becoming the global lingua franca. This is quite convenient for us English speakers, and so I really can’t complain. However, it is a shame when I go to a foreign country and I don’t have to feel out of place — when half the people around me speak English and there is a McDonald’s right down the block.

The other downside is that without any pressing need to learn a foreign language, it becomes much more difficult.

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Learn more about this blogger’s study abroad program: ALI Abroad: University of Alicante