H2OforU goes to Ethiopia

Global Contexts

Global Contexts

Table of Contents
Introduction ..

..3
Culture

.3
The People

.3
Meeting
Etiquette
3
Dinning

.3
Coffee
..4
Business..

..4
Meeting
Etiquette
4
Communicatoin
4
Business
Meetings
..5
Conclusion
...5

Global Contexts

Introduction
H20forU is an organization that goes all across the globe to plan and build
water wells for various communities. This is a donor run organization that
gains no profit besides smiling faces of those who have fresh water to drink
from. Their most current project will to be to travel to Ethiopia and to plan
and develop a number of wells throughout different communities and villages
in need. This guide was created to better understand Ethiopia and their
culture. The information below was taken from the online site
kwintessentia.com.

Culture
The People
Ethiopia has very many cultures and ethnic groups within the country. Within
those many different cultures, religion is a large part of their lifestyle. The
most common religions are Ethiopian Orthodox and Muslim but there is also

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Judaism and Christianity. The Orthodox Church has the biggest influence on
the people and how the country is ran as a whole
Family is a large part to the Ethiopian culture and it is the norm for the elder
relatives to move in with younger family members so they can take care of
them. Extended family is emphasized greatly throughout Ethiopia and family
is put before everything else including business. Business meetings and such
will revolve aroud the

Meeting Etiquette
When meeting an Ethiopian it is generally the same as the U.S customs
besides a few minor changes. The greetings will be polite and formal with the
common handshake with eye contact. Although the handshake needs to be
very light compared to U.S. Once you know the person close enough you
may kiss them three times on the check upon greeting the same sex. For
opposite sex, men wait until the woman extends her hand. Elders must be
greeted first at all times and referred to by the respectable title and their first
name. Titles such as; Ato, Woizero, and Woizrity, meaning man,
married women, and unmarried woman. As a younger person it is common to
bow to the elderly person

Dinning
Ethiopians love to welcome people to their homes for meals and things like
coffee. This is a special honor to be invited to someones home. Upon arrival
to ones home, promptness is
not considered the norm but neither is being late. While entering in to the
home you must take your shoes off and shake the hand of every person. If
you are a female you must offer to help with the preparations of the meal or
the clean up afterwards. Before it comes time to eat there will be a metal jug
that is brought to the table, you must put your hands over the bowl and let
the pour water over your hands. Then when you start to eat, only use your
right hand to eat with. As a guest you will be often times served a tasty treat
through a process called gursa where you place the treat in the other
persons mouth, while doing this be sure to smile. The end of the meal is
signaled by another round of hand washing and then coffee is served.

Coffee
Coffee is a large part of the culture and Ethiopia is known for their coffee.
The process of drinking coffee is very ritualistic to the Ethiopians and will
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take about one hour. If you get invited to have coffee you will be most often
times sitting on a pillow or on the ground with some sort of frankincense
burning. A young man or women will prepare the coffee and it will be served
in three different rounds, starting with the oldest. When you are given a cup
of coffee you must inhale the aroma before you take a sip. While sipping the
coffee, be sure to sip slowly remembering this process will take at least an
hour.

Business
Meeting Etiquette
The greetings for business are formal and polite with a light handshake that
is held longer than U.S customs. For business, constant eye contact is very
important. While greeting the opposite sex, the man just wait for the woman
to extender her had first otherwise it is offensive. The greeting time is a
somewhat slow process and is a time to get to know one another asking
about family and such. When addressing government officials they are
referred to as Excellency and when referring to others you must be granted
to use ones first name. While exchanging business cards remember you must
either use both hands or only your right hand.

Communication
Communication is very sensitive to the Ethiopians because they are not used
to doing business with foreigners and it is something new to them. Overall
they speak softly and sometimes quietly to come off as humble and to not
disrespect others. They expect you to do the same and to speak very clearly.
They are very hypersensitive to others emotions and will go out of their way
to not embarrass others through their own comments. Therefor it is
extremely important that you to not say anything that could offend another
person even if they are with you or not. Also make sure to treat the
Ethiopians with the upmost professionalism possible and do not do anything
to sacrifice their respect for you.

Business Meetings
The greeting part of the meeting often times takes the longest for business
meetings and is considered the most important part. Meetings are also often

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times started with tea or coffee and this is a time to ask personal questions
and be prepared to answer to many as well. When it comes time for the
actual meeting there is most likely a meeting schedule but it is not usually
followed very closely, instead it is just a guideline for discussion. The
meetings will only end when the Ethiopians feel that there has been enough
said and done in the meeting. Overall, the Ethiopians are very loyal to their
friendships so through respect to one another, they do not say no to things
even in business. This can be a bit of an advantage but also a disadvantage
because you are expected of the same thing if you are on a friendly basis.

Conclusion
The Ethiopians culture overall is an accepting and giving culture and when
you respect them and their lifestyle they will respect you. When you have an
opportunity to connect with anther person do so, as they will be more
generous and willing to help you when they look at you as a friend rather
than a guest. Doing business will be very easy and will work smoothly as
long as you stay on track with the few guidelines given above. This guide will
help you to be as efficient as possible throughout your business adventures
in Ethiopia.

Works Cited
http://www.kwintessential.co.uk/resources/global-etiquette/ethiopia.html

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