The tourist can only be a passive bystander. The denizen becomes a part of the place. I remain the perpetual tourist less from my inherent gringo-ness than my inability to be touched, to allow myself to change. If you place a white stone in the red sea, what does it become? Wet.
When I returned from backpacking Europe, my ex, Jen, complained that I hadn't changed because of the experience. I have remained watching from the high walls, sometimes even to the point at which I am remote even from myself.
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