To Dance or not to Dance?

At my first wedding experience, I was surprised to see women dancing while men were in the room. Having lived much of my childhood in a country where dancing was only for all-women's parties and for home, I found myself very uncomfortable with the idea of dancing while men were in the room. I decided from the get-go that I was not going to dance, and therefore refused several of the women's attempts to pull me out of my chair. Talk about reverse culture shock! It was only after calmly observing that most of the women were dancing and after realizing that this was ok within the culture that I was able to arise to the occasion. There's not nearly as much hesitation now when I'm beckoned to the dance floor.