Ethiopia - Culture Smart!: The Essential Guide to Customs & Culture

Set in Africa, but not wholly African; an isolated nation, yet receptive to the outside world; hierarchical and conservative, yet innovative and desirous of modernity; conformist as a people, and fiercely independent as individuals--the Ethiopian identity defies definition. Ethiopia exists simultaneously in different time periods. Its people, when they see something new that might work to their advantage, will embrace it and find ways to improve on it. Modern democracy, however, has understandably been slower to bloom given the strong historical antecedents of its monarchy. Culture Smart Ethiopia unpacks the values, attitudes, and traditions of this culturally rich nation. Above all, it provides the tools to do so in a considerate and sensitive manner.