re: The normal answer seems to be the feeling that something you should be familiar with is totally unfamiliar.

jamais vu[Fr. “never seen”] the sensation that familiar surroundings are strangely unfamiliar; the illusion that one has never seen anything like that before.
- Dorland's medical dictionary & Chopped liver review


i remember this sensation when i was a child, if we went away for a few days, or a week (to camp) when i came home, everything looked new to me, it was as if i had never seen my parents apartment or the furnature before..

i hadn't forgotten the apartment or the furnature, its just it was a surprize to see it.. i would notice the grain of the wood, or details of upholstry pattern, or just the way the sun light pattern the shadows..

this persisted till i was in my 20's or so.. its been years now since i have experienced the sensation.

maybe sharing more than i should about my psycological state than i should)