The difference between BalTIC and BalKAN, just so you don’t become a national embarassment

Click the map to see it at full size.

In today’s edition of the French newspaper Le Monde (whose name translates as “The World”), in an article titled Le divorce Europe-Etats-Unis : la famille occidentale sous tension (“The Europe – United States divorce: the Western family under stress”), comes this interesting revelation:

Earlier this year, when meeting with leaders from Lithuania, Estonia, and Latvia at the White House, Trump criticized them from starting the war in the 1990s that shattered the country formerly known as Yugoslavia. The leaders — who were from Baltic countries (countries that ring the Baltic Sea, in northern Europe) — were confused about what Trump was talking about until it dawned on them: “OMFG — dumb-ass thinks we’re from BalKAN countries!” (countries in the Balkan Peninsula, 1000 miles south).

It’s strange that a Wharton-educated “very stable genius” who’s traveled around the world would not know the difference the difference between the Baltics and the Balkans, and even stranger since:

• He has real-estate interests (and probably a boss) in a country whose western shores touch water from the Baltic sea, and
• His (current) wife is from the Balkans.

In order to spare you the embarrassment of making the same mistake, I’ve created the map at the top of this article. Enjoy!