Dealing with loneliness in India

As I am nearly completely deaf, I have a different issue.  That is, I can be "lonely" anywhere on earth, because I am not an expert in any language but English, and even then, I don't do well at all in group settings of white (or any) English speakers.  Last night, my friend took his family and me to his parents' house to begin celebrations for the onset of Navarātriḥ (starts today on Oct. 10 in 2018).  They all speak Hindī, and my friend and relatives of his generation can speak English, but they are a bit hard for me to understand a lot of times.

Anyhow, I was sitting there watching them conversing in Hindī, and I realized then and there that it doesn't matter whether I am in the US or in a foreign country; I'm always going to miss out.  As a result of being deaf all my life, I've had to learn over the decades not to be bothered by the lack of connection to people at the linguistic level, and find some way to be connected at the spiritual level.  There are people who can be uncomfortable around others if they don't know the language, and then there are people who are comfortable around others even though they may not know the local language being used.  For me, it has to do with whether our mindsets are compatible with each other, regardless of languages used.

There is a difference between being "lonely" or being "alone."  One ought to learn to be good company to oneself.  Socializing becomes a "bonus" rather than a "requirement" like water, without which you will die.  I guess a question is, can you smile without feeling sad?  Can you play with your friends' toddlers?  With toddlers, expressions of emotions become far more important, since they don't yet have the means to communicate verbally, BUT you can communicate through miming and facial expressions, and teach them words they don't know, breaking down the individual sounds of words before stringing them back together.

Since you are in a very different environment, notice their social behaviors, how they sit, how they dress, how they use their hands, what the house looks like, the furniture, photos on the walls, etc.  Notice the things that are important to them.  This is the time to be observant before you reach a point where you are so busy socially that you don't notice your surroundings.