I had a friend from a small town around Liverpool in the UK. She had two repeat 2-3 times for me to understand, and sometimes I didnt get it even then.
I felt very stupid and useless, but then two other girls from London came to me and said in a ''gossipy'' manner- ''You know,I really like x, but I have no idea what she says when she speaks, she has such a strong accent...''  
As you can imagine I istantly felt better. If the Londoners,native english speakers, can't understand her, then it's totally excusable for me :P

Greece- mine :D
But since I doubt we're getting very far , I am/was with Spain, but they lost quite badly...  If Spain doesn't win then I want Brazil ;)  

The Greek motto: ελευθερία ή θανατος (eleftheria i thanatos) = freedom or death  :)

When someone looks at you intensely or admires you, and then something bad happens to you (e.g. illness, accident etc) we say that someone ''evil-eyed '' you(yes, there is a verb for it). In order for the evil eye to leave, you nee to call someone who knows how to ''unevil-eye'' you(also a verb). Usually those are women or grandmas, but men can do it as well. It works extra well if a woman that has travelled to Jerusalem and has been baptised in Jordan does it, but those are harder to find :P .They perform some kind of ritual, making you drink water that they have ''purified'' by doing a cross on it and chant some hymn of the church. When it is finished you have been unevileyed. --(Yes, I know it looks like exorcism-although we dont believe in demons just the bad eye :P-. You cant imagine how popural this is in Greece... When I was ill, they did it to me. Also everytime my father is ill, he calls his sister so that she will do it on him. Also my classmates, when something happens to them go to a girl that knows how to ''unevileye'' to help them... :P)

Many other superstitions exist! and they are popular :P No matter how much we evolve, the mind of the people sometimes stays in Middle Ages... Though personally I do these stuff- it's more like a fear if I dont do them, even if I know nothing will happen.
I think it's not bad to keep those traditions, as long as we are not too obssessed about them :P. They are special, and part of our heritage.

In Greece Friday 13th is not considered unlucky, Tuesday the 13th is ;)
we also have many other superstitions...
When you break a mirror, you have 7 years of bad luck!
When you leave scissors or umbrella open, it is again bad luck(i dont know how much though :P)
 When you disguss about bad things for the future (e.g. possible death) you say ''hit wood'' and hit the nearest wooden thing near you with your fist three times. It makes the bad thing not happen ;)  (I do this too... it's a habit, I can't stop it :P)
  Also, again when disgussing bad things you fake-spit in the air three times by saying ''ftou'' and do a cross (like the italians, but the way of the orthodox chruch- with right hand and different fingers)

I had passed this spot, been in this area more times than I can count since I was an infant, yet I never paused to listen, listen and observe. Only that day..
Language, country, people, culture, for me now it's the same. I know it can differ-of course it can- but generally I feel that every place has it's ''spirit'', something that makes it different, a mix of history, climate, mentality, religion, art, tradition, and by observing the life in it one can perhaps grasp it..
I dont know if that's what you meant, perhaps I'm wrong xP I hope I 'm not, because that was a huge post, I feel bad that you have to read it!

I was extremely bored, so I said to my mother let's go to the center of the city. We were walking in the old famous district when we reached the gate to the Agora, the archaeolical site of a part of the ancient city of Athens. We had not planned to get in-after all I have been there so many times- but something made me want to look, and so I said let's get in.
so I was in Agora, it was a beautiful day, the sun was up and the sky was a clear blue and I was walking around in what is basically a little more than rocks now- and some temples, while smelling the dry air and the flowers and trees around... I went to each thing, read what it was and shouted enthusiastically like a maniac to my mother who was with me '' here the Athenians ate after the meetings! One of them had the keys and was responsible for them for a day!- here they gathered to disguss political matters! Here it was that Dimosthenis came and tallked!!!'' . and then I read the ancient texts inscripted- mostly names and graves, but being able to read them and think that this person whose name I read lived there 2500 years before and here I am now, reading his name in our mutual native language...
Afterwards I went in Monastiraki and Plaka(the place near the ancient sites- those are all close and visible) and show the modern greek society, the old churches from ottoman period, the bazaars working til today, were men sold drachmas(the currency before euro) and firniture of the 19 and 20 century and old books and jewlery, chatting with each other, a lovely buzz around, an the sun was burning, and I heard beatiful bouzouki in the distance and a sweet voice singing...

I had this experience not when I travel to a country, but when I spoke with a lot of russian people. I made some russian friends and we talked for hours and hours for a great period of time and I asked them about their country, the political thinking of the people, about their history,  and we talked and shared videos with me and I felt like I had touched , you know, the russian mentality, their way of thinking and living, what made them fear and rejoice.
Suddenly the russian language was alive to me, it meant these people, it meant famous tsars, Ekaterina belikaya, amazing literature,ballet and the sound of violins playing nutcrucker, white snow and long winters, plain but nutricious food(borsh, gretska,manaya kasha)-specifically made so that it keeps you warm, communism and great patriotic war, strong,harsh but deeply kind and good people -not nesecarilly all  good things, but part of the russian language that shaped it and the russian people. 
The russian language now is a huge entity in my head, it's a great civilization of it's own and I feel awed that I came in contact with it. I do feel foreign like you- because after all I am, and this makes me admire more as an observer, and somebody able to judge differently since I dont have the russian mentality. I know that I have barely touched the surface, and I'm looking forward to seeing more and more about this language and culture.
  Appriciating russian helped me appreciate my own language as well, and while I definitely love this language, there's nothing in the world that could replace greek for me...
I felt like I touched the greek mentality after a walk at the ancient sites of Athens. I live in Athens, and I have done this walk many times, however now I had had to learn what is everything because of school and exams, so I knew what I was actually seeing.