English can be dangerous

I remember drinking in a bar in Poltava with an English-speaking acquaintance. It was quite a noisy place. One of those places where you had to pay close attention to hear what your companion was saying to you. Anyway, right out of the blue some monstrous and drunk man smashes his beer glass into a hundred pieces on our table and screams at the top of his lungs in Russian: I hate you *?!$#* Americans!!

I didn't mean to imply that this sort of intense reaction was common in Poltava. I was only relaying an interesting but traumatic experience I had there. What I did find to be somewhat common was the dirty looks I got sometimes when I was overheard speaking English. It got to the point that when I was with an English-speaking friend I became a little self conscious and found myself speaking very quietly to whoever I was with. Another interesting reaction, pointed out by a Lebanese friend who lives there, was what I call the 'following.' If we were walking and talking, sometimes a little group would follow you. I completely didn't notice this until he pointed it out.