This analysis of a discussion between four Brazilian and four German Belo Horizonte university students reveals a subtle interaction between verbal, nonverbal, and paraverbal contextualization cues in (im)politeness strategies and rapport management forms, as well as metacommunicative strategies for the control of the gaps between one's “own” and “other culture” experience. The direct context and participants' theories on communication and on the other culture, have to be contemplated to comprehend that so-called “misunderstandings” may in fact frequently be attributed to (un)deliberate face-threatening acts focused on querying or negotiating cultural values.