Cultural Consciounsess

Last week, a very dynamic and well spoken Australian woman came to lead a workshop on cross-cultural interactions.
After shoving falafel into our mouths, we cleared the tables in the dining area to make room for a large circle of chairs. My first (subconscious) observation started when everyone sat down: deciding where to sit has always been a conscious and thought-out decision. I noticed this as I sat down in a chair that was pushed back a little, between two people who I did not know well.
We started with a game called, "As the Wind Blows," a criteria game:
"Everyone who has knit a hat!"
"Jewish women!"
"Everyone who likes snow!"
"Everyone who skis!"
"Everyone wearing jeans!"
As each statement was called, the people to whom it applied would jump up and frantically search for an open chair to sit in. After several rounds of this game, our facilitator called attention to the criteria we had invoked, and how each was indicative of how and where we grew up, and where we feel comfortable.
Throughout our activities, we talked a lot about judgment; how do we immediately judge people upon first impressions: friend or threat? We discussed the phenomenon in the context of being Anglos living in a balagan (crazy mess)(even using this word is a judgment...) of a Middle Eastern/Westernized culture. The facilitator divided the world into two kinds of cultures: warm climate cultures and coled climate cultures. As Anglos living in a warm-climate culture, we often notice (or feel uncomfortable with) the lack of a notion of personal space. To get on buses, no one waits in line; on buses, people smush together with no qualms; politeness or etiquitte seem to have little or no place in this culture (language implying judgment?); when having conversations, Israelis stand much closer than Americans do, etc. Our faciliator called attention to these things not to separate ourselves from Israelis, but to make us more conscious of our interactions. While we may feel bothered by a lack of respect for personal space, the people we interact with my feel disrespected by coldness or aloofness.