College Admissions Essay B

It is widely known that people from the Arab world and people from the Western world often misunderstand each other. For roughly two thousand years there have been disagreements ending with dire results. The Crusades offer a great historical example, in which both the Muslims in the Middle East and Christians in the Byzantine Empire of the west wanted control of the Holy Land of Jerusalem, which held extreme importance to both sides religiously. The Crusades lasted hundreds of years with numerous battles and accumulated thousands of casualties. Lately in the news, Americans hear about the latest conflict, whether it involves oil, religion, nuclear weapons or the military occupation in Iraq. These two very separate worlds differ greatly in culture and by learning the culture of the other world; the two can reach a better understanding of one another and ease some of the tension that has been built up.

One such example of the cultural differences between the Western and Arab worlds is that in America everybody has their own personal bubble that surrounds and accompanies them everywhere. When one is sitting on a bench in public, the public bench is looked at as owned by the person who is occupying it; thereby, sending a message to all others looking for a place to sit to find a different park bench or at least sit with a good amount of space in between. If someone sits too close an automatic feeling of discomfort and annoyance usually sets in. In the Arab world, no one person can own or claim a public space and everyone has equal rights to use the public amenities, such as a park bench; with this being true, any person can try to get the prime seat on the park bench if they want it, and they will do anything in their power to get it. It is in this light that those from these two very different worlds misunderstand each other's intentions and develop judgments on the others behavior. Arabs, coming from a very close, friendly, and affectionate culture feel