How do we encounter culture?

Dr. Mary Catherine Bateson, daughter of anthropologists Margaret Mead and Gregory Bateson, wrote that every cultural encounter or interaction is like an improvisational dance with a stranger. This imagery, to me, is both charming and true. It is my desire to help the dancers in this exchange succeed. How can we attempt such a feat? Communication, more specifically, intercultural communication is the study of messages (all kinds - more on this is future posts) within, across, between, and in light of various cultures.
Ok, so let us begin...

I enjoy life as a teacher, a writer, a student, a traveler.