What would it be like to be an alien?

As you know by now this story is about a man from Mars who has come to Earth and if forced to adapt and cope with the ways of our world. This man's ways are very different from our own, considering he is from another planet and all, but not completely different. He looks very much like us and has a basic understanding of our language. Language is one place where he encounters a lot of problems however. He takes a long time to decipher the phrases that people say to him and he is often confused by certain emphasis or slang. Also in the part of the story where I am now he is seeing a woman for the very first time. This confuses him and causes him to feel very embarrassed. This makes me wonder how difficult it would be to come to an unfamiliar world and not know anything of what you were seeing around you. It's one to visit a different country and not be accustomed to their culture or language to be from a completely different world would be incredibly strange and difficult.