I used to live in Washington DC and one day I stopped to help out two obviously lost tourists squinting at a map.
We chatted a little bit and I asked where they were from. They answered simultaneously. “We’re from Belgium”, said one. “We’re from France”, said the other. Then the second one said kind of sheepishly, yes yes we’re from Belgium.
Reminded me of an old Python skit that was a contest for the worst insult you can say to a Belgian. One of the entries was something like. “Why should we talk to Belgians at all.”
Maybe they just thought that since you’re an American, you might not know where Belgium was, but that you might have heard of France (since we have have french fries and french toast).
I have knowingly only met one person from Belgium. I was on holiday (actually I was on vacation) in Tenerife and she was working there as a guide. If she was insecure then I would have loved to console her. Reminded me of Grace Kelly.