EWARD T. HALL wrote that different cultures have different ideas of personal space. For example, colleagues having a conversation in East Asia can feel uncomfortable if someone stands closer than about a metre. However, in North America and northern Europe, most people feel that a metre is too far away: a distance of 50-90 cm is normal. In the south of Europe and South America, people often prefer to stand closer than this. In Arab counties personal distance can be 30 cm or less. Of course, people sometimes need to stand very close together, for example on crowded trains and buses. When this happens, some people listey to music or read a newspaper to make a different kind of personal space'.