Personal space is defined differently in different parts of the world. In Asian countries, people are more accustomed to crowds and communal living and are more comfortable in these situations than westerners. As one Vietnamese writer puts it: "Indeed, the art of being Asian, if I can be so bold as to generalize, is the art of negotiation between the I and the we. In East Asia, the self is not associated with a body alone, but rather with a deep force within. And that force, especially in societies bound by Confucian tradition can only find full expression within a communal context." (Andrew Lam, NPR)