English is Simplified French.... and other gems

No kidding, some dude voiced this opinion. A native dutch speaker who learned French, then English. So now you know....
I worked a few hours at the international coffee shop today. When I arrived and it was not open, I either had to go home without coffee - or volunteer to open it up and make some coffee and run the counter for an hour or so. So I settled in and studied French - I have an exam tonight. In between I served customers, in French, Dutch, Spanish and English. Merci, Alstublieft, Gracias, Thanks, Tag!, Salut! The routine is you start in whatever you think is the common language, the other person matches, or changes, and back and forth this way till the transaction is over, or till communication breaks down and you have to renegotiate the language of the exchange. English is pretty universal ... maybe because it is simplified French??? It's usually pretty simple, predictable stuff, but fun try to play the game. Funny thing is that whenever people think I don't speak their language, they tend to switch to French on me, I've been told I have a French accent in both Dutch and Italian. Go figure....
I managed to win a few tax cases (US Tax cases) which is always fun - I mean in the sense of beating the IRS at its own game. But today I won an argument with the guy at the copy shop. It was only 10 cents at issue, but I was delighted that I managed to win it in Dutch. That was worth way more than 10 cents.
For all this, I really don't even begin to match the locals in linguistic skill; the culture is so multi-lingual that they have to be fluent in 3 or 4 languages, just as a basic survival skill. I on the other hand just stick with 'simplified French' most times.
Peace,
Amy