When viewing a new place, you have to look through the eyes of the culture you inhabit, or at least through the most optimistic eyes you have. There are things you will not like and things that will just rub you the wrong way, but through the magic of perception you can feel comfortable, at home, and at peace. A large part of perception is understanding. However, I use this term loosely because even understanding is in relation to your own past experiences and prior knowledge and therefore is subjective. An example will illustrate this clearly.
