Humans of St. Norbert:

“It seems like everything Americans know about Egypt is about the pyramids and they don’t know anything about Egypt now. I want people to know about the culture. The pyramids were made 3,000 years ago. Egypt is very different now.

“For example, personal space here is different from the Arab world. For Arabs, personal space is seen as a thing where if a person wants personal space, they might not be friendly. If an American was to go to the Arab world, it would be a very weird experience for them. Americans aren’t used to having people so close to them. I knew the differences when I came here, so I’m trying to keep up with it. Sometimes I act intuitively and then I remember to keep some distance.

“The thing is just understanding perspective. Me seeing it in your perspective is hard. But when you understand the way of living in other places, it’s easier to understand how they live, and how they form their lives.”
– Ibrahim Mahmound, visiting exchange student from Egypt