I had a colleague, Thomas, whose childhood was spent in Shanghai. During high school he lived in Hong Kong and for university he went to Europe. He worked for the World Bank and was assigned to many countries, including the United States, where some of his siblings settled.

When he spoke, we all listened. Once I heard a young Chinese guy tell Thomas that he was going to the US and he was nervous about what to talk about.

"Talk about the weather," Thomas responded without hesitation. "They love to talk about the weather." As usual, when it came to matters of culture, East and West, he was right.

"How are you?" is often followed by remarks about the weather. "Nice day today." "Cold/hot enough for you?" "Will it ever stop raining?" "Some winter we're having." "Can't remember a winter/summer so cold/hot." "Whew, it's hot out there."

These introductory statements are often followed by a long conversation entirely about weather conditions. Past, present and - with global warming - speculation about the future.

It seems silly, our fascination with weather, but underneath it all is the real purpose of those endless discussions - small talk. Weather's a safe topic of conversation.

As a group, we Americans seem to enjoy conversing with those around us. I'm gradually learning that few other groups, anywhere, almost automatically engage like this with strangers. I learned this by the startled looks I get when traveling and I launch into a bit of chat-chat about the weather with strangers.

Standing in a grocery line, we often engage in this sort of conversation with those standing in line with us. If I was seated next to another American in any form of public transportation, I'd expect both of us to make some harmless comment about the weather as a way of acknowledging each other's presence. In our teacher's office we always comment about the prevailing conditions.

Mingling at a party, the weather is a common topic, especially with those you are just meeting. When trying to be friendly with people whose English is limited, we can both make simple observations about the weather.

In contrast, we are taught to avoid certain topics like religion and politics. Weather is neutral, we don't have to have an opinion about it, just make a statement of an observable fact. The fact that we can go on and on about it is what is remarkable.

Students have a hard time grasping why on Earth we'd spend so much conversational coin on this topic and why we warn them about bringing up much more interesting subjects, like salaries or how much something costs. Sometimes it is tricky to wend one's way through cultural mores, especially those that are never taught in books.

Quite a few of my Chinese students are improving their English because they will study or travel in America or do business with Americans. They want to fit in and they most certainly don't want to make some linguistic boo-boo. They worry about so many aspects of their interactions with all those strangers and their strange ways.

I always try to quieten their fears by telling them exactly what Thomas said: "Talk about the weather. We love to talk about the weather." And, yes indeed, we really do love to talk about the weather. Endlessly.

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