Before Yam arrived in the UK, I've found 99.9% of cases when friends and work colleagues asked me about Yam or when I would be next seeing her, it was always "When are you going back to Thailand?"!!
It frustrated me when they did as you know they don't mean anything bad by it, but you do get a glimpse into what they are thinking sub-consciously!! I always want to slap them and it "upsets" me that even my friends can't even make the effort to get the country right! But as it's my friends, I also don't want to make too big a deal of it as like I say, they don't consciously mean anything nasty by it!
If it ever does happen now, I just look at them disapprovingly and sigh very obviously. Then if they don't get it, I point it out and they feel suitably bad about it and apologise
