Writing Culture

Continuing the discussion of Matthew Salesses' Craft in the Real World, he makes a great point about writing about one's culture. When workshopping you can get confusing advice about writing the sensory details of a culture:

1. Choose "striking" or "lasting" or "unusual" (or so forth) details.
2. Leave out unnecessary of "common" details.
3. Defamiliarize the familiar.

I say write what you want, and don't explain anything. At Electric Spec we have had many writers from numerous different countries and if a reader is occasionally a little confused, so be it. :)
What do you think?