House rules

MAY 3—It’s always important to mind your manners, especially when you are a visitor in someone else’s culture. Today we got a lesson in this and no doubt can expect a few more along the way.

Hats came off when we came into the church compound at Kidane Mariam. We removed our shoes before entering the church. These were the house rules, and we understand they are there for a reason. We needed to in some small way prepare our bodies to be on holy ground. Inside we were asked not to chew gum or candy, or even to sip from our drinking bottles. The church is a place for spiritual feeding. Other needs are distractions.

Community standards of etiquette are stringently enforced in many cultures. Western societies allow individuals a lot more latitude. We also have a tendency to assume others think as we do (or, at least, they ought to). Some of the rules we encounter in other cultures make little or no sense to us.

That doesn’t really matter, at least not at the introductory stage. Anytime we desire to establish a positive relationship, it’s important to be sensitive to the rules of the house and behave accordingly. If we are truly seeking to understand, we must for a time put away our own inclinations and begin to enter the world of the other.