If you live in Myanmar and are from the United States, you have had the following experience when visiting home.
“So, where do you work these days?”
“Myanmar.”
“Oh, Myanmar (puzzled look, followed by awkward pause).”
“It’s also called Burma,” you helpfully add, feeling increasingly sad. More blank looks.
“Is it near Thailand?”
“Yes, right next door,” you say, though the confusion is far from being cleared up.
Finally, you pull out the trump card.
“Ever heard of Aung San Suu Kyi?”
Allowing for some exaggeration, if you are American, you’ve had that chat.
In general Americans don’t really know much about Myanmar and they aren’t curious about it, despite it being a crucial ally in the region and one of US President Barack Obama’s key foreign policy successes.
We can say this with authority, and not just because the person writing this post is an American citizen, but because of almighty Google.
Google Trends has released a map showing the level of interest Americans have in countries all over the world based on the number of times they search for the country.
The map, which presents data collected between January and June of this year, was debuted in the Washington Post on Monday.
Myanmar comes in #78, which explains so much. Thailand, just over the border and more recognizable because of its aviation hub and status as a tourist destination, was ranked #22. Vietnam was #26. Myanmar did beat Cambodia, which was way down there at #89, though not as far down as Uzbekistan, which was as #161.
Mexico topped the list, something the Washington Post attributes to presidential candidate Donald Trump’s “build a wall” rhetoric.
Interestingly, India came in #2, beating out China (#6) and conflict hotspots like Syria (#57).
With all this being said, there’s a small detail that should be added. As a recent post in Lifehacker pointed out, search volume does not reflect the the number of people searching.
So the list, while intriguing, may not tell the whole story.
