Living among other cultures.

Our conversation about ethnographers and culture sparked my interest. Having taken some Linguistic Anthropology classes in the past, ethnography is a fascinating subject matter to me. However, I never thought of myself as someone who had been a participant observer in a different culture until yesterday. Some of you know that I lived in Germany for a very short while. Although I can not say that I was a full participant because I never mastered the language or even the culture, I did notice that I was more willing to relinquish my cultural ideas while abroad.
In many cases when one is an observer of a culture, the culture is extremely different than one's own. The European/Germanic culture has many differences, but the worldview of many Europeans/Germans does not differ so much from our (American) worldview. Most of the moral issues of today are those that European immigrants brought with them while emmigrating from Europe to the US in the 18th and 19th centuries.
I did not have as many cultural hangups as I thought I would have even though the other American students often had more issues with the differences in culture than I did. I attribute my lack of cultural problems while in Germany to the idea that I always expected things to be different. I was more aware than usual of how I acted and spoke while abroad and tried to blend in as much as possible. Although I wanted to explain my culture to those who did not understand it, I also knew that I did not understand German culture. I learned to understand the culture more by participating in converstations and spending time with other German students.
That being said, I do not feel that I could explain the German culture to those who do not understand it in the US or elsewhere. I have tried to explain minor issues, but I can really only say what is said or done and never really why. I am not a scholar and therefore do not try to write from the perspective of the culture that I enjoy being a part of, but I think that in some cases it is important to try to speak for those who are not there to explain things for themselves. For instance, a co-worker of mine has made references to Nazi Germany in a humorous tone. Knowing how offensive it would be for someone of German nationality to overhear him, I have mentioned that he should not say things such as that because he does not understand the implications of it in today's world culture. His understanding is that it is over and they (Germans) should get over it. Although I cannot fully explain why this is an issue with Germans, I know that it is a huge problem. Many Germans are very proud to be from their country, and when people constantly refer to something that occurred many years ago and had no correlation to many of the people living in Germany today, although not forgotten, it can be quite offensive. My German friends see statements such as my co-worker's as ignorant.
Part of the problem with the situation above is that 1)my co-worker does not understand the German culture nor does he care to; therefore, he does not watch what he says and 2)some Germans do not understand Americans and our sense of humor. Another example of this situation is that Tigermanor Condos used Nazi-based humor from the movie Animal House in their newest ads. This is just funny to many American college students, but for someone who has lived in Germany and has friends that are German, it is an ad that can and is offensive.
There is no full solution to these issues, but we as an informed culture can do just as we said we should in class. We should be open to different cultures and their worldviews as much as possible. We should be aware of issues that are important to them as well. My question is, how far does it go? Even if we as an informed culture try our best to understand, will we be understood? I think it depends on the context, but only time will tell.