An ISTJ in Africa

Ever heard of the Meyers Briggs Type Indicator? Well, I'm an "ISTJ" - which basically means that I'm not real touchy-feely. When it comes to dealing with people, I tend to be pretty direct and uber-practical. If I have some business to do with you or a request, I will probably get right to it with little small talk. In fact, I believe text messaging to be the single best form of communication ever invented.

So how does this play out in a culture that values relationship much more than task? To say that I am task-oriented is an understatement. My whole life is one giant to-do list. Ethiopians (broad generalization coming) are much more personal and relational than this. In fact, one of the things we have been struck with is the importance of the greeting in Amharic when you meet up with another person - even a stranger. Ethiopians will easily spend 15-20 minutes just asking "How are you? How is your family? How is your week? etc. before ever getting down to the business at hand. And if as a foreigner you neglect this very important ritual, not only will you be rude, but you will have a much more difficult time getting your task done. Take the grocery store for example. Sugar is in short supply here, but usually available in the back. "Sikwar alleh?" you might ask. But if you skip the niceties ("how are you?" and so on for quite a while), you might not get any sikwar.

Even though this can be frustrating for an ISTJ like me, I am thankful that God is using this new culture to refine me and force me to be more relational. The "git-er-done" attitude may be valued in the US, but it also blinds me to areas that I need to grow in. "That's the just the way I am," I would often say in the past. What I am learning here is that I have to change in some ways - and that's a good thing. All of this is to make me more in the image of Christ, and that is far better.