I speak fairly good French though I don't get much practise these days, enough German to just about get by when shopping, a little bit of Spanish, ditto Italian, a few words of Greek (kalimera, kalispera etc.) and the same of Maltese.
Last time I was in Cyprus I went to a little baker's shop where the owner spoke good English. When he gave my my change I said "Efharisto" and after the obligatory "parakalo" he looked at me with a big smile and said, "Oh, you speak Greek". I said well, no, not really I just know how to be polite - but he wasn't listening. "Did you learn it at school?" he said. I kept trying to tell him I don't speak Greek but it was no use.
I went in the shop nearly every day while I was there (his cakes were scrummy) and he greeted me like a relative every time. I just kept saying Yassou, Kalimera and Efharisto - what more (literally) could I say?
