From the Midnight in Iraq blog - Arab Life: An Outsider’s View.

Since I have had the opportunity to see a few Arab homes, and to observe and interact at some length with the populace here in Falluja, I thought it might be interesting to point out a few of the similarities and differences between the life we know and that of an Iraqi. Hundreds of customs and courtesies surround the Arab culture. Upon my arrival here, I didn’t know what to believe and what to shrug off as nonsense. I quickly realized that most things I had learned from Ustatha Samir during “culture time” in Arabic class held true in the real world. It’s always rather surreal to imagine life drastically different than American culture without actually experiencing it, but after seeing this small part of the Arab world with my own eyes, I know I’ll never forget it...