Is it custom in your culture...

- "Scusi parli inglese?"... I was sitting in the metro, on my way to Italian class, fighting my way through an italian giallo - crime story.
- "Erhmm scusi", I looked up and saw the American woman sitting next to me,
- "Scusi parli inglese?",
- "Si, I speak inglese" a bit confused.. "Im not Italian",
- "But you speak English?" she answered/asked - Couldn't help wondering if those two things were contradicting for her...

She then asked "Is it customary in your culture to get up for old people in the metro".
(My culture ?!?!) "Yes" I answered "Its considered pretty rude not to".

Then she started waving at a woman, which mostly looked offended that the American was considering her as an old woman. The "old" woman refused.

As I started to get up to exit at Termini, I told the poor confused American that tomorrow the metro would be closed because of strike.
- "ohh" she said "for how long will it be closed?".
- "only from 8.30 until 17.00",
- "only tomorrow?",
- "yes"
- "but that doesn't make sense?"
- "No".
- "but why do they do it?",

- "That is privileged information, which almost never reach the public".

She looked confused. I told her "In my culture, its like that"... and Got off the train.