Saying Hello in Burundi

On my first day at ANSS in Bujumbura, I walked around with my co-fellow Pamela and one of our supervisors and met almost one hundred people that were to be my co-workers. Naturally, because there were tons of new names and faces and the introductions were entirely in French, I was unable to remember many people’s names. So it the following days, when I walked into the office, I gave people a quick wave and walked up to my office to start work, using the normal, American head nod, or a “Hey, how’s it going?” if I was feeling particularly friendly that day. This was in stark contrast to my Burundian co-workers who stopped, shook hands and greeted one another every morning, asking about families, weekends, and life in general.

Coming from the west, it came as a bit of a shock when my boss told me that some of my co-workers took my quick “American” greetings as a bit rude. I was so used to having bosses that cared about nothing but the bottom line that I was surprised when my boss pulled me aside and told me to spend more time talking to people when I arrive in the morning and not to come into the office so quickly. “In Burundi, if you see someone you know, you should stop and greet them,” she said.

So the next day, I took my time when I walked in, shaking peoples’ hands, hearing about babies, jokes, last weekend’s parties. In all, it took me twenty minutes to walk in the door and up to my office. I learned more about my co-workers on that day than I had in the previous two weeks I had spent at ANSS. Since then, I have become much closer with everyone I work with, and it still takes me twenty minutes to get to my desk! So next time you walk into work, stop and ask your co-worker how he or she is doing. It might just be the best part of your day.