[stakman1011]

I was wondering if something like this story would make for an interesting thread...at any rate, this is my favorite story of a culture clash. I promise it's worth reading.

My mother had a university professor that was born in India and taught there, but spoke fluent english. By her account he was absolutely brilliant, one of the smartest men she had ever met.

Some years after university, (she had stayed in contact with him) he came to visit her in New Jersey. She didn't know how to entertain this guy, and finally decided on taking him out to tea; figuring this would be familiar to him and allow them time to talk over old times.

He orders the type of tea that he wants and they bring him a cup of hot water and a tea bag. He looks at the teabag a little curiously, and then cuts it open with his knife and empties the contents into the cup. My mom then explains how a tea bag is supposed to work by demonstrating with her own. She asks the waitress for a new cup and a new tea bag.

The professor is a little embarrassed by his error, but nevertheless impressed with the idea of a tea bag. He gets his new cup and his new tea bag and, with great satisfaction, successfully makes his first cup of tea.

He then grabs a bag of sugar off the table, and throws the entire thing unopened into his mug...

Stak