Life in the house of mirrors

Last summer I spent my working days cleaning hotels rooms and waiting tables. This school year I spend my working days and nights synthesizing articles written by scholars about other authors writing about other people who spend their days cleaning hotels rooms.  

Yesterday I sent an email to a professor from Leeds asking his opinion about a career trajectory. He wrote back positively, 'That sounds like a fascinating opportunity'. I was satisfied. Later, I told a British classmate about an alternative to coffee called 'Yerba Matte'. She responded ambivalently, 'Sounds fascinating'. So this semi-unproductive evening I'm wondering if 'fascinating' means the same thing in Britain as it does in America.