Personal Space Differences

My husband really values personal space.  During the holidays, we often have a lot of family over.  Typically, my three sisters, their spouses, and children all stay at our house for several days.  My family has NO SENSE of personal space.  It can be difficult at times.  However, we have learned to manage.  Sometimes my husband goes into our bedroom and shuts the door.  We all know that he is not being rude - he just needs space.  Because I know that about him, I try and respect it.  He is actually of German descent, so it was interesting to me to learn how much Germans value their space and hold it to be almost sacred. I can't help but wonder if this is something that has been passed down to him.  

In a TESOL classroom, I could see a lot of miscommunications arising around what people may perceive as a violation of their personal space or property.  One culture may think it is no big deal to borrow another school supplies, while another may be very upset about that.  I think this can be easily managed by addressing it early on and teaching the class the different views on space and property that we all may have.  

I think it's really easy to sort of live in a bubble, assuming everyone is like you.  Even though my husband and I have different views on personal space, they are really not that different because we were raised in the same culture and in roughly the same area.  I think all Americans value personal space to some degree.  For example, if you are sitting down somewhere and there is plenty of space, if you are American, you will likely get annoyed if someone sits right next to you.  Another culture may view this as proper use of space. I think it all boils down to respecting another person's circumstances and where they came from.  

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