Perspective is everything

So I was at work the other day in my "office", which is really just a cramped space that I share with 10 other people, and I happened to be alone with one of the arabic teachers. She's a nice enough lady but I had never had the occasion to talk to her before because we're always either coming or going. She started asking me about where I live and my family and she couldn't believe that I came all the way here, to Abu Dhabi, alone. I told her that to me it wasn't really that big of a deal, I was used to be alone, I actually quite like it. I moved to Virginia by myself after a brief phone interview and less than 36 hour visit there, and I stayed for six years.  Picking up and moving halfway across the country or world just isn't a big deal to me.  For most people this would strike fear but for me...nothing. What's the worst that could happen?  I'm not sure if this is a good characteristic or bad characteristic to have, certainly one should have fear or at least trepidation about such large, life-changing moves.

Anyway, after I explained all that to her, she explained to me that "it's not like that with Arab women".  They go from living at home with their parents to living at home with their husbands.  They literally are never alone.  She couldn't understand how I functioned without family nearby to help.  I can understand how having that kind of...support?...can be comforting, you never have to worry about figuring things out or taking care of things on your own.  But at the same time, you never have to (or get to) figure things out on your own.  How do you figure yourself out if you never have those challenges?  I moved out of the house at 18 and have made the requisite silly mistakes of my 20s (I really hope I'm done with silly mistakes but one can never know I guess) that have made me who I am today.  I wouldn't want to go into a relationship with anyone and not have had the time to make and learn from those mistakes, but it seems like there's no room for that in Arab or muslim culture.  I'm not saying either is right or wrong, I just now have a new understanding of the culture which I hope to learn more about.