This is a true tell of the culture of the land. They are expressing the importance of family and community. They place those things at a higher value than Americans. From birth in the US we are constantly bombarded with the sentiment that "you're on your own" and that the neighbors could be a lurking enemy, don't trust anyone, stranger danger, etc... We have little inter-connection and the many people I have met abroad are far closer to each other than I am to my own neighbors.

You being there away from everything you know is a symptom of our US "culture".

Just a thought.