I've travelled SE Asia and most of the US, now I'm finally doing Europe.
As far as this romanticized idea you have about locals, well, it really all depends on where in the world you are. Some of the small islands of Malaysia and small villages in the Philippines you may find something like that but quite rare and you'll truly have to have a command of language in order to do so and even then that's no guarantee.
Quite honestly the most authentic local experiences have been when I've been able to contact locals beforehand and get them to put me up or at least get them to spend some time with me and invite me to spend time with their family. The only time I ever got to be deep with the families was because someone else laid the groundwork first.
I've heard good things about this site:
http://couchsurfing.com/
one of the founders is someone that I am to meet up with sometime this month because a friend of a friend situation, but I have to still confirm it all.
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