Be ignorant of Lithuania’s location.
I can’t count how many times I’ve been called Russian, Polish, or Latvian. My absolute favorite was a remark by a hotel receptionist in Malaysia. After looking at my passport, he exclaimed, “Oh! You’re from Republic of Libya.”… Not just Libya, but Republic of Libya.
Here’s a sample of 90% of the conversations I have when I tell people where I’m from:
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- “So where are you from?”
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- “Lithuania.”
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- “Hmm?”
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- “Lithuania, a small country in the Baltic States.”
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- “Ohhhhh!” followed by a long sigh that’s supposed to prove they do know where it is. It’s clear they have no clue.
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- “It’s above Poland and below Latvia.”
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- “Oh, Poland.”
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- “No, I mean Lithuania is above Poland.”
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- “Above Poland?”
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- “Yes.”
- “Oh, so it’s part of Russia then?”
And that is when I give up and change the topic.