[snowmanf]

I think the real answer is yes and no :P

Sometimes there can be a misunderstanding.
Then again misunderstandings of the same type can occur between two ppl from the same country. Does someone from California always 'get' someone from Ohio. Or the same for any two other places.
The first family I knew in Japan the dad was a local in Kagoshima but is wife was from up north, they were like ppl from two diff countries.

On the other hand, yes, it really can be an excuse. I've seen it many times.
then again we all look for excuses, dont we?
I guess that one was just easier to grab hold of because it always bandied about so much its likely to be in your conscious mind.

In another example, from when I was living in Aust.
A polish lady was married to an Aussie chap and they ended up divorced.
From then on she was utterly convinced that cultural differences was the sole cause of the breakdown of any relationship between two people from diff countries or cultures. Curiosly, statistical evidence suggests that marriages between ppl from diff countrie have a lower div rate in fact.