Knock knock

In the States, if you ring someone's doorbell once or twice and no-one answers, you assume they are not home and, naturally, leave. In Peru, if you knock on someone's door once or twice and no-one answers, you knock at least 15 more times - ensuring maximum possible volume for each knock by using a coin on metal or your fist to bang on wood - before you even consider the idea that they might not be home. And not uncommonly, you get to the 14th or 15th knock, and all of a sudden someone answers the door - they'd been home all along!

The logic behind this cultural norm? (I know, it's hard to imagine.) If somebody only knocks once or twice and then gives up, they didn't really need to see you anyway. So why bother stopping whatever you're doing to go and answer the door if they've only knocked a couple of times? This happens in my own house here: someone will ring our doorbell, and my instinct will be to get up and answer it. But, since my friends tend to call before they come over, I'm pretty sure whoever's at the door isn't looking for me, so I sit tight. No-one else in the house makes any move towards the door. The bell rings again... silence. Maybe when the bell rings a third time, my host mom starts shuffling in the direction of the streetside window, so that she can stick her head out and yell "who's there?" Then, only if necessary, will she go down and actually open the door.