I was actually in India during the original thread, and that experience reminded me of another strange aspect to the idea of wanting to blend in with the locals or experience a place like the locals do: it doesn't really have much to say about visiting places where you don't *look* like a local.
India was definitely a country where I stuck out like a sore thumb, obviously in skin color but also in things like clothing. Moreover, I couldn't drive, didn't know where I could and couldn't eat safely, and could barely even cross the street. While I don't have a lot of cute anecdotes about it, I can definitely say it was one of the only countries where I visited and felt like a true foreigner.
I felt the most out of place in Poland! In China, I couldn't read characters, but they also didn't look like text to me. In Poland, everything was labelled with letters I knew in ways that made no sense to me even to sound out. I felt like I'd forgotten how to read!
I was actually in India during the original thread, and that experience reminded me of another strange aspect to the idea of wanting to blend in with the locals or experience a place like the locals do: it doesn't really have much to say about visiting places where you don't *look* like a local.
India was definitely a country where I stuck out like a sore thumb, obviously in skin color but also in things like clothing. Moreover, I couldn't drive, didn't know where I could and couldn't eat safely, and could barely even cross the street. While I don't have a lot of cute anecdotes about it, I can definitely say it was one of the only countries where I visited and felt like a true foreigner.
I felt the most out of place in Poland! In China, I couldn't read characters, but they also didn't look like text to me. In Poland, everything was labelled with letters I knew in ways that made no sense to me even to sound out. I felt like I'd forgotten how to read!
"But what if your need is chronic and there’s no excuse of a sudden crisis, just a constant need?"
If you haven't read "Deep Places" by Ross Douthat, put it on your short list. He addresses this in the context of his experience with chronic Lyme.
I'll add that this is a big reason why infertility can be harder than mothering, at least in my own experience.
I loved it! And I agree with you that that's the heartbeat of the book. I got to review it for NR here: https://www.nationalreview.com/magazine/2021/11/15/becoming-literate-in-suffering/