Their wide-ranging conversation also traversed politics. Fawzy spoke candidly, which struck Hladish as interesting since talking openly about politics isn't common among Egyptians, Hladish said. And, finally, their conversation turned to AIDS and Fawzy's incorrect impression that the deadly disease that attacks the human immune system is transmitted only among homosexuals. Conclusions For Hladish, this conversation crystallized one of the trip's key purposes. He was gaining insights into U.S. culture by peering through the prism of other countries.
People here take things for granted simply because of the environment they grow up in.
They take it for granted that all people are Christians and that everyone has an abundance of possessions. It can really be amazing. Hladish was struck, for example, by contradictory lifestyles in the United States and Egypt. In Egypt, he said, most people don't have creature comforts like air conditioning or the basics like running water unlike in the United States. They have things they have to protect.