When I was a kid, and pestering e.g. My dad where was mom (who might be shopping or in Washroom or whatever :), sometimes in exasperation he'd reply "she in Cal

When I was a kid, and pestering e.g. My dad where was mom (who might be shopping or in Washroom or whatever :), sometimes in exasperation he'd reply "she in California". It was the functional equivalent of dark side of moon, or even Narnia - place you've heard of but might well not exist. 20 years later, in Canada, my job sent me to California for training. When I heard, surprisingly to myself, I hyperventilated and got an asthma attack - my adult Canadian self and the 6 year old from somewhere else colliding in their expectations and worldview reality. Which is to say that I think you have a profound point in that somebody may be "aware" on intellectual level of different places, cultures, laws etc; and it still not feel very real or be at all relevant on practical level.