If you went to American public schools, you probably speak a second language about as well as you do algebra. Twangy Spanglish makes telenovelas more of a hoot, and menu-grade French makes Montreal even slinkier (voulez vous coucher avec moi?) -- but let's be real, if the rest of the world hadn't adopted English as a lingua franca, the vast majority of Americans would be reduced to mimes when stumbling around overseas.
Ah, but there's the rub: English is the world's unofficial second language, with some estimates claiming that 1.5 billion people speak it. Tons of those folks are clustered in the usual roster of foreign lands -- the UK, Australia, Canada, Ireland, Jamaica, New Zealand, Oregon. Elsewhere, you may have to work harder to be understood, but you can always find people ready to meet you on your linguistic turf when you're on their soil. A language barrier won't keep you from taking an adventure in these 13 countries; included with each is the percent of people who speak English, per some probably-in-the-ballpark estimates. Take a trip anywhere on this list and you'll swear they've been practicing for your arrival. Because unlike you since taking German in 10th grade, they have been.
Tanzania
How many people speak English: 10%
What it's like as an English speaker: English is widely spoken in this former British colony, especially in the cities and in the tourism industry. Most everyone you interact with will speak your language, which is mildly embarrassing until you remember that you saw The Lion King a few times back in the day. Then you'll start looking for conversational openings to casually drop Swahili words like simba (lion), mufasa (king), pumbaa (dimwit), rafiki (friend), and hakuna matata (no worries… for the rest of your daaaays). Pro tip: Call it Kiswahili, which is (stay with us now) the Swahili word for "Swahili," like Español is the Spanish word for "Spanish."
What Tanzania has to offer: Want to see The Lion King IRL? Tanzania has dozens of safari parks, including the world's largest (Selous Game Reserve) and its most famous one (Serengeti National Park). Time your visit right and you can catch the annual migration of 1.5 million wildebeest, a squad so imposing it's known simply as The Herd, as in "look sire, The Herd is on the move." (Don't go, Mufasa!) Another major draw is Kilimanjaro, where you can walk/cry all the way to the summit of Africa's tallest mountain. But if hiking to an airplane's cruising altitude doesn't sound like your idea of a vacation, head to the tropical island of Zanzibar to do nothing but lie on your back all day, drink from coconuts, and watch really tall Maasai Mara dudes herd cows on the beach. -- Sarah Theeboom, Thrillist contributor
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