Ah yes... culture and speech

But then the invitation to lunch so soon after meeting him. Well that just about knocked me down. At the very least, it was moving too fast. And with my southern upbringing, it might have even been considered impolite. I gave a polite southern way of saying no, "That's mighty nice of you. Perhaps some other time." Now everybody down south knows that a sentence like that means "no." And they know that's how you have to say "no" because actually saying "no" is itself impolite. And southerners are nothing if not polite.

So, I had clearly said "no" to this man's kind but hasty offer of lunch. And wouldn't you know it? The very next week when we went to this strange church again, he insisted that we join them for lunch. He was New Jersey. He didn't understand the rules and DC was too close to the Mason-Dixon to clearly establish which "Rome" we were in and what we should do.

(Found here)

I think I'll always find the differences between cultures odd. For the most part I'd consider myself part of the blunt category ... and people who can't commit to a "yes" or "no" answer tend drive me up the wall (even if I know them well enough to interpret their response).

But considering that my family talked from time to time about creating a Dave <-> English dictionary, I suppose that I can't complain too much.