I don't know better...

... I'm not English!

My latest amazon-shopping trip ended just today with the delivery of Kruder & Dorfmeister (The K&D Sessions) and Kate Fox' "Watching the English". I was intrigued by the subtitle:

The Hidden Rules of English Behaviour

Close friends keep telling me I'd sometimes behave very odd or even rude, and I've noticed before that people seem to be put off by things I say or do (that are perfectly normal in the world I used to live), so I decided to give it a go with Kate's guide, hoping for enlightenment.

My dear friends, you guys are seriously weird! Talking about the weather (what English always do) isn't really talking about weather but some sort of a chatting-up line?

I now completely understand the guy's embarrassed face after this short conversation.

He smiled at me: "Cold day today, isn't it?" I smiled back: "Minge!"

Rule Number 1: Never disagree! Rule Number 2: If you disagree, start with "Yes, but at least it's not raining" If it is raining, see rule no. 1.

There are several other rules when talking about the weather (which actually isn't talking about the weather, but more a start to some sort of conversation hinting to the fact that one's interested in talking to the other person. phew.) I (shock horror) didn't follow any of the rules, naturally. So for the non-english, this is the translation of the convo above:
He smiled at me: "Hey, you're round here very often?" Me, smiling back: "Fuck off"

There you go! It's not easy round here!