I know, the title is a bit generalizing, but let me give you some context. I work as a sales assistant in a Tax Free shop at an airport in Europe, so I talk to a lot of different nationalities on a daily basis. As a hobby, I spend a lot of time learning different languages and I like to practice, so when I hear someone speaking a language that I know, I usually like to talk to them in that when I greet them or if they ask something, look lost, etc. Since I love challanges and to suffer, I started learning Finnish a couple of months ago. My knowledge is not good enough for a full on conversation yet, but I do know a good couple of phrases and understand some sentences as well. I really love the language so I try to use every opportunity to practice.

In most languages other than Finnish, I usually get some smiles and laughs, or we just have a quick conversation about the occurance, it is generally a positive experience. It feels like the majority of travelers appreciates it when I talk to them in their native language when they are abroad. For some reason, it's not the same with the Finns. Generally when I try to speak Finnish, we usually just stand there and people look at me really awkward and the whole situation just feels very uncomfortable. I try to think what the reason might be, but I do not know, really. Maybe I make mistakes that causes the whole sentence to be nonsense, or my accent could be a problem. Or maybe it is just a cultural thing. I do have a Finnish colleague however, who says that my accent is rather good and he can understand what I say.

Usually what I do is just coming up with something relevant, like if someone looks a bit lost around candies, I say hi and ask "Etsitkö jotain makeaa?" or when I see Finns looking at Finlandia vodka, I say "Miksi Suomalainenen? Meilla on *the local country* myös" and things like that. I would say maybe 2 out of 10 people get surprised and look happy, but all the other cases are just very awkward. Bad kind of awkward.

I do have some positive awkward experiences as well, for example when a woman in her 40's got suprised and gathered all her friends around me to show them that she found someone speaking Finnish. She also introduced all of them to me by their names and who they are to her. It was an undeniably awkward, but very kind and human experience, something I will probably not forget. I have no problem with these, but why the rest is like the way they are?

Am I the awkward one here? Or do you have any advice/explanation on why this may be happening?