A couple of thoughts here:

In my view, it’s not arrogance, your etxolling the marvelous tea you were served… nor is it naive… it’s just good old-fashioned respect and pride the prospector takes in a task well-done and the pleasure which you also take in being treated with class… But what do I really know? Maybe that sort of treatment is reserved for people with wallets, like you?

Sometimes I think that misery is an idea that is borne out of differences (or out of an apple dumpling, as Mulder once said). I think conditions often are seen as miserable by an outsider more than by the people on the “inside.” Consider how the hearing deplore the idea of deafness more than deaf people themselves…

Beautiful write-up, loved the imagery. I found another website that helped me understand the context of your blog:
http://www.karenkonnection.org.....erica.php3

It’s also interesting to see your intense reaction to a routine part of other people’s lives. It shows the benefits of stepping out of one’s own space now and then.