Last summer, while teaching in South Africa, I learned a valuable lesson in cultural etiquette which translates even to the conferencing world. Using the taxis for transport was quite an experience – packed like a sardine in a speeding van which never stops, even for loading and unloading passengers. After getting out to let an older woman exit, I hopped back in and shut the door. Now, “shutting” the door, as I am used to, is perceived as an insuting door slam in African culture. Luckily, I played my ‘unknowing  American’ card with a smile and wasn’t kicked off by the glaring driver.