that “we never had time!” She echoed
what I often hear from my Iranian-
American husband Pedram “Things
are so different culturally in Eritrea, Its
not like the U.S.” She explained that
the coffee drinking ceremony takes
up to three hours and sometimes lon-
ger with chatting and togetherness.
“We want our coffee in two minutes
at Starbucks in the U.S., over there we
sit and enjoy each other.”
Patience & The Pace of Time
I became very nostalgic during our
conversation because listening to her
describe how people enjoy ceremo-
nial togetherness is exactly what en-
chants me endlessly about Middle
East & North African culture and
why I absolutely adore visiting the
region. In a life where I live by lists,
tasks and endless errands in traffic this
life is unheard of in other parts of the
world. The way people make time for
each other and slow down almost to a
stop as if there is nothing more press-
ing to do in this moment than drink
tea, have a three hour meal and talk
for two hours after before enjoying a
long afternoon nap is refreshing and
delightful.
There are also business implications
to those who will be crossing borders
and working in the Middle East & Af-
rica. These cultural differences make a
big difference in how you should ap-
proach your business in the region.
My consulting firm, International
Intercultural advises western profes-
sionals working in the Middle East
and North Africa about the cultural
adjustments necessary to succeed in
your business dealings. Uniquely, we
focus on cultivating cultural manners
and etiquette and harnessing impec-
cable impressions to quickly build
trust, communicate effectively and
work productively. Another wonder-
ful benefit of cultural training is being
prepared personally for the cultural
differences and beginning the adjust-
ment process before you even arrive
in your international destination.
While Ethiopia and Eritrea are not
in North Africa many of the cultural
principles we emphasize in our cur-
riculum hold true including the cen-
tral role of relationships, patience and
slowing down considerably.
It is important to be mindful about the
pace of time within the entire Middle
East & North Africa (MENA) region
including most African countries as
well. Patience is required if you’re
coming from a western country be-
cause our concept about the pace of
time and relationships is rushed com-
pared to life in most of the world. I
routinely advise clients to not under-
estimate the power of a cup of tea, or
in the case of Ethiopia a cup of some
of the worlds most sought after cof-
fee. And to also understand the central
role of relationships in a part of the
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