Read the situations taken from the real experience of American students. Think of possible explanations.

SITUATION 1: I Just Asked for a Napkin!

I'm a napkin person. At every meal I tend to use a lot of napkins…say anywhere from 3-5, depending on whether the napkins are the flimsy paper kind or the cloth ones. Out at a restaurant, I never seem to have enough napkins. I always ask for more napkins. While in London I ate out often and I noticed that every time I would ask the waiter/waitress for more "napkins" I would get funny looks. I felt as if I had asked for something dirty or disgusting. People knew what I meant, and always handed me more napkins. But they seemed to give me a weird look.

Why the strange looks?

SITUATION 2: Why were our friends left behind?

My two friends, Michelle and Carolyn, and I had a four-day weekend, so we decided to spend them in London. One night we went dancing with three non-British men we met at the hotel. We left the dance club at about 2:30 am, so we all tried stopping a taxi since the underground had closed. No taxis would stop for us for the longest time, even though we could see that they were in service and empty. Finally one stopped, but only Michelle, Carolyn and I got in and left. Why were our three friends left behind?

SITUATION 3: Rain in the Train

After my first full day of classes in Copenhagen I was exhausted. I could not wait to get back to my host family's house and write in my journal about all of the new things I had encountered. But first I had to take the train home. It was raining slightly but I only had to wait five or ten minutes for my train to show up since in Copenhagen they are always on time. When it stopped, I opened the doors like I had seen so many other people do and took the first empty seat. Since it was after commuting time the train wasn't full and the seat in front of me was empty. In an effort to get more comfortable, I propped my feet up on the empty seat and reclined. The ride was much nicer than I had anticipated; there were lots of picturesque houses and stores along the route to daydream about, so I wasn't bored. About halfway home an older woman came up to me and gave me an odd look. I thought she wanted to sit in the seat in front of me so I put my feet down to make room. However, instead of sitting she started yelling at me in Danish and walked off.

Why was she so annoyed?

SITUATION 4 :German Dinner Party

The first week we were studying in Germany, a friend of mine, Devin, decided to host a dinner for her new German flat-mates. She thought this would give them a chance to get to know each other better and discuss household duties. Cooking a basic Italian meal for dinner, spaghetti, she invited everybody to come at 8:00 pm. Slowly the flat-mates began to come home, the first arriving at 7:55 and the last coming home at around 8:15. They sat down; she served up their plates, and conversation seemed pleasant. She eventually met all five of her new roommates: three German guys, one German girl, and a US-American girl. They discussed where each of the Germans were from in the country, from Berlin to Munich to Freiburg, and the two American girls showed great interest in seeing each of their home towns, meeting their families, and visiting their homes. The Americans commented on what a great opportunity their roommates could be in discovering German culture.

The discussion veered toward what each was studying, how they liked the university, and, since neither of the American girls spoke German, they asked how well each of their German flat-mates could speak English. The Germans also asked many questions about the States and whether it was like what they had seen on TV. They wanted to know the Americans' first impressions of Freiburg, and the differences they could see between the US, and Germany. The American girls complimented Germany a great deal saying how much cleaner it was than the US and how it was almost like living in a fairytale village. The girls also described their two very different hometowns in the US, Minneapolis, Minnesota, and Seattle, Washington.

They spoke fondly of their respective hometowns, especially Devin, as she tried to dispel the myths of the uninteresting Midwest. She invited the Germans to come visit her when they had the chance to travel to the US so they could stay with her and meet her family and friends. The others just nodded and smiled while continuing on with their meals.

As the night wore on, Devin was complimented on her cooking, and the big pot of spaghetti she had made was nearly gone. The six eventually divided up the household chores. They also decided it would probably be a good idea to have monthly or bimonthly roommate gatherings to keep up on what one another was doing. At about 10:00 pm all had retired to their rooms except for the two American girls who stayed to wash the dishes.

Devin and her American roommate thought the dinner had gone very well and that their German flat-mates would soon become good friends. However, the Germans remained rather distant and aloof after the dinner and generally things did not turn out as the girls had had hoped.

Why not?

SITUATION 5 :Potty Stop in the Bush

It was a soul-wrenching heat on the southern tip of Madagascar in February, around 115 degrees Fahrenheit. The Antandroy tribal people walk an average of twelve kilometers a day to retrieve water in the arid spiny desert! With my host family, I lay on a sisal mat as still as possible to avoid using too much energy while my sisters prepared the dinner. Whenever I got up to walk to the bathroom, which was a prickly pear cactus of my choice, a five-minute walk from the huts, my face would burn from the relentless western setting sun. When dinner was served and we were all seated around under the shade of the Baobob tree, for some reason my family started screaming amongst themselves in anger and chaos, every once in a while pointing at me. Unable to understand their rapid Malagasy, I was startled and confused, sensing I was definitely the cause of this upset. What had happened?