I'm from Indonesia but have lived in America for many years, so I think I've got a pretty view of both sides. The West: -Life: we're all just animals resulting from evolution, so do whatever makes you happy, just "follow your heart" -Family: parents raise kids until they go off the college, at which point they need to be responsible for their own lives financially; individuality > duty to family (for example, you don't have to do the career your parents want you to) -Friendship: friends are as important as family (or maybe more important) -Love: it's a trial and error process in which you learn from experience and mistakes as you go along The East: -Life: we owe our lives to ancestors/some deity, so we have to live to honor them -Family: even after college, even after you get married, your parents are always a huge factor in your life, and have to be included in every big decision; big siblings need to look out for younger siblings -Friendship: good to have, the more the merrier; but family first -Love: get a solid, stable career first, and then get married and have a fam. It's more planned, and parents are involved in relationships way more than in the US for example, where some people date without ever meeting the other's parents until engagement Of course this question can take years of research and writing to answer well (some people have written doctoral dissertations on this haha)