We live in a family where humor is a staple, and once had a young man of fairly fragile ego, who had grown up in a family without a sense of humor), stay with us for varying lengths of time. The persiflage at the dinner table is thick and fast, and it was a wonder that this kid had any hair left, for the jokes flying thick and fast just over his head. After a few months he would say, "that was a joke, right?" And a couple of months ago he began making humorous comments himself! Humor can be taught!

That said, we had a foreign student for a few weeks last summer, who made some VERY disparaging comments about Wavestar and the condition of her room. When I told him that they'd been somewhat hurtful, he allowed as how in Norway everyone talked that way to their friends. But both he and the kid we've ended up with told how they, like all of our family, were cruelly teased for being "smart" in grade school. So I guess some stuff is more universal than other. BTW, the Austrian boy we ended up with, and I, tease each other unmercifully, knowing full well that we love each other. (Sorry about the grammar, but she died last year and I haven't been able to put together a sentence since.)

CamiSu