Variety & Efficiency

"I adore simple pleasures…they are the last refuge of the complex." Wilde

Although I don't agree with everything about the United States – I still feel I won the baby lottery in being born within its borders. And although I dislike some things about the culture – the US is still my home, my 'normal', and my #1 love with regards to a country. There is a lot to love about the States and our culture. Part of that reason is simply because that's where I was raised.

Undoubtedly, I've missed my friends and family the most. But, this blog is about some of the more simple taken-for-granted things that I've really missed about home – some I knew I would miss a lot but they still deserve a mention. And of course I've missed out on all the luxuries…but those need not be mentioned.

A lot of extraordinary things lie in the ordinary if you choose to see them…or have had to put up with different for 2 years.

Like...sidewalk etiquette. Anytime I'm walking in Huaraz, I appreciate the sidewalk etiquette of our big cities. We walk with a purpose…most are aware if they are blocking a walkway and move, people are not allowed to set up a store wherever their fancy chooses, and generally people are thoughtful of others. Even those who are strolling get out of the way, enabling both to do their own thing. The sidewalk etiquette of our country is a beautiful thing. Where I live, the sidewalk etiquette is practically non-existent. Plus – all sidewalks usually have some form of animal excrement and huge holes…so you have to always watch where you are stepping.

Diversity...everyone is the same color here – give or take a few shades. I like the States with different races, religions, sizes, colors, shapes, etc. It creates problems, yes – but it also creates a lot of beauty (at least for me). Also, I miss having black friends, Asian friends, white friends, homosexual friends, etc. I prefer the diversity of the States.

American girls...yes I have a girlfriend here and she's great and a source of sanity for me since she has a lot in common with American girls, mentally and physically – but I still miss blondes, brunettes, redheads, African-Americans, Persians, Europeans, Asians, et cetera. In American society, girls are more liberal and experimental with their looks and that's nice to see (more money for clothes also).
- One example was during the last meeting in Lima with my entire training group – I commented to Frank how all the girls were really dressed nicely and looked great when we went out to the bars on Friday night and how weird that was – then Frank, who has been to the States twice during his service, pointed out to me that's what girls normally do…I've just been out in the boonies too long to remember. I was like, "oh yeah, you're right."

For instance, this photo - both girls are American. I didn't have to convince them - I asked, they thought it was funny, done. Plus, on the same topic – and I can't really complain about this because I don't have much of one myself…but most girls where I live don't have much of a behind (it's also hard to find bras with C-cups or higher…). Peruvians on the coast share more physical characteristics with American girls but that's not where I live. Also – American girls, I think, are sassier – and I like that. Plus, I like girls that challenge me mentally – and here, there isn't as much confrontation and people don't call out 'bullshit'. Also, I have a thing for athletic girls…and I can't think of a single athletic Peruvian girl here. I don't think the men here appreciate it…perhaps they find it too challenging to their manhood or something. Also, I consider myself a feminist (in the sense of equality but that doesn't mean we can't appreciate sexuality)…and that's not found here either. So, my apologies to the ladies back home reading this because you may not relate to what I'm saying (since you would be talking about American guys if you were here)…but you're beautiful and I miss you.
- I don't know if I've mentioned this before, but it seems an appropriate place to me (though I have a loose definition of "appropriate") – most are familiar with the term "beer goggles". Well…there is also "Peace Corps goggles" that you get from living out in the boonies for too long and they are arguably more powerful and deceiving…the two goggles combined are very, very dangerous.

Lines...while I might hate them…they do serve a purpose and we collectively benefit by keeping them orderly. Some lines have order here – like outside a bank. On the first of every month, you can be assured there are orderly lines wrapping around the block of people waiting to cash their paycheck. BUT…when it comes to getting onto a combi, the people here don't even wait for the others to get off before trying to cram on. They literally push and shove with their bodies. Sometimes I deal with it…other times when I have little patience I just wait for the next combi. Sometimes I tell the group they are acting like a bunch of monkeys…they'll look at me but no one ever says anything. Same thing in the market – if it's busy and you're not a little pushy, you won't get attention. Perhaps our ability for orderliness shows how well taken care of we are…

Food...I lucked out when it comes to the food of a country…Peru has delicious food. My favorite 3 are ceviche, lomo saltado, and aji de gallina. Lots of deliciousness. But…the tastes of home are sorely missed, whether it's Dad & Mom's cooking, ethnic restaurants, even chain restaurants (like Olive Garden or Outback) and sometimes that American fast-food crap does sound good….like a chipotle burrito or spicy chicken sandwich from Wendy's or anything from Taco Bell or a hung-over Sunday pizza delivery or IHOP trip. The food from home is very high on the things I miss.

Lunchtime...there isn't a single thing going on around lunchtime where I'm at. Everyone is chilling out. Now that can be cool…unless you want to get stuff done you have to wait till 3 or 4 until things get back under way. I prefer our way…even if lunch tends to be more rushed. For instance - I came into Huaraz today to buy a hard drive for a computer I'm fixing up for the artisans I work with...I couldn't between 1-3:30 because they are lunching.

Roads... I've mentioned this before, but every time I get in a form of transportation, I am acutely aware of my mortality...part of this reason is due to the roads where I live. It's like a video game set on 'extremely challenging' where the object is not to hit a pothole...nobody wins but everyone still tries...even if you can't see around the curve ahead. Things like roads don't really get fixed up where I live. I find them scary and I wonder if my likelihood of getting in a crash increases over time or if it's more like rolling dice, where the previous outcome has no influence over the next outcome...

Garbage...the States is much more adept at taking it away and putting where we can't see it...which is good for our visual pleasure...although perhaps that's one reason why America produces so much trash - we don't understand just how much we produce. Sometimes...trash here just gets dumped wherever - like this photo, this is one of the main roads in Huaraz. This has helped me increase my awareness of how much trash I produce and increased my desire to lessen that amount.

Weather...I'm a huge fan of seasons. I love them all. Only two seasons here – dry and wet. I've come to be a fan of these seasons as well – but back home, there is just more variety, and I like variety. Plus…rainy weather every day for 5 to 6 months is tiresome.

Variety and efficiency...those seem to be two of the themes – I guess those are two great things about the USA that don't exist here. (of course, variety and efficiency are not guaranteed even in our society, especially when it comes to things like a Two party system or healthcare)

Much love,
Jake

Things that won't go on the resume...

Now that my time is winding down I am putting together my resume. As I was writing according to the requirements of today's resume – I sat there wondering how I could summarize the two years I've had here, the work I've done, and how I've changed. I came to the realization there just isn't any way to encapsulate it, especially in a resume where I can only devote about 6 to 7 bullets for my time here. So – here is a less formal, more fun resume of my life over these past two years…and who knows what will happen over the next couple months and on my trip home…

Jacob Edward DeBerry – Peace Corps – Volunteer – Small Business Development
- Fortified my immune system by introducing it to lots of different bacteria and through much strength and conditioning (I.E. explosive diarrhea).

- Relinquished all ideas of normal business practices and attitudes and instead focused on getting grown adults to not all talk at the same time during meetings, to show up on time or just to show up, to come sober, have an agenda set before the meeting, and that if you want to have an association where all the profits go back to everyone instead of a boss you will have to work and sell stuff before you get that money.

- Tried to instill ambition and a go-get-em attitude to people with a lot of talent but who have grown up getting things for free because of constant outside aid, beginning from the 1970 earthquake and now from the mines and NGO's galore.

- Performed as the sole and last business volunteer (at least for awhile) in this region – all other business volunteers are in different departments, mainly along the coast where the people are more willing to work.

- Was stood up for lots of meetings…or had to wait countless hours for meetings to begin or for people to show up…

- Combated loneliness and isolation for 2 years while in a town of 1,000 people close to 10,000 feet in altitude in the Peruvian Andes through reading, playing guitar, writing blogs, hiking, meditation, among others.

- Sacrificed seeing my niece and nephews growing up for two years. Missed my Dad's 50th birthday. Missed a number of weddings of friends and family. Missed my sister's graduation. Missed out on the festivities when Barack was elected (though we partied here). Missed out on a lot of stuff – though I gained a lot.

- Lived for two years without a television, microwave, oven, fridge, freezer, and any other appliance you can think of (though I had a toaster from 1972, it was awesome). Most of those two years I was also without running water during the day.

- When there was water, washed and showered with water that came from glaciers…it's really cold.

- Learned how to live poor and eat cheaply (spending less than $5/day).

- Adapted to constant personal-space invasion, a very machismo environment, constant attention from everyone and little kids and old people staring at me without discretion, dogs only living on the street and barking at all hours, repetitive conversations, unsanitary food but beautiful in its organic-ness, native music blaring usually in the early morning or late at night, drinking with only one glass that is passed around for the group (regardless of the size of the group), 5 months of rain every-single-day, and much, much more.

- Expanded my musical knowledge, tastes, and personal ability

- Implemented a great American greeting, the high-five

- Taught people that eating fruit at night won't make you sick, neither will drinking cold things, it's okay for men to cook and help in the house and women can help with the family money, that homosexuality isn't something caught like the cold and statistics show 1 out of 10 people are gay, that white women are not sluts because they might seem like that on tv, whistling and yelling at girls while with your group of friends won't get you as far as going up and talking to them, vegetables are good, sexual education for the youth is good and only preaching abstinence doesn't work, people who don't believe in god can still be nice and caring people, and lots of other stuff

- Corrected stereotypes about Americans such as: we do not carry around machine guns, other than Dick Cheney and a few others, Americans are friendly, peaceful people, that while America is a rich country 80% of that money is with less than 10% of the population and we have a lot of poor people that can't feed themselves or get health care and that our primary and secondary education, health care, and environmental awareness is actually some of the lowest out of rich countries…but we spend more on the military than the next 30 countries combined.

- 3 years out of the 6 years out of college have been spent outside of the US living in incredible places.

- Participated in traditional Andean fiestas.

- Grew a big hippy beard.

- Dropped below 160 lbs unhappily, losing about 15 to 20lbs - though I'm around 165 now.

- Went to a cat-eating party and ate more guinea pigs than I could count.

- Drank copious amounts of warm beer, bad wine, cheap rum, corn beer, and canaso (the moonshine here).

- Read over 50 books (literature and nonfiction)

- Began practicing meditation.

- Visited the Amazon rainforest and swam in the Amazon River, went to the largest city in the world that can't be reached by road, visited a shaman, held a sloth, a few monkeys, a kaiman, and other cool stuff. Saw a falcon killing a monkey. All kinds of other really cool stuff.

- Climbed above 19,000 feet and camped on a glacier at 18,000 feet.

- Skinny-dipped in 5 glacial lakes above 12,000 feet (and still counting).

- Visited one of the 7 world wonders and the highest navigable lake in the world.

- Learned Spanish and some of an indigenous language.

- Expanded my patience exponentially – something my mother has always harped on…"Jacob Edward! you need more patience!" love you mom :)

- Increased my capacity for compassion and love.

- Got a tattoo.

- May have set a Peace Corps record for number of friends that visited the country while I have been here.

- Made life-long friends and met all kinds of amazing people along the way.

- Expanded my perspectives and increased my awareness of that which is outside of my way of life.

- Had an intimate and meaningful relationship for over a year.

- Freaked out all the squares.

- Lots of other stuff I shouldn't document publicly on here…my grandma might be reading…

- Dearly missed my friends and family and despite all the frustration, bad times, and loneliness over the two years, I lived, loved, and laughed the entire time.

Much love,
Jake

our silly brain

Warning: This blog is longer than usual and you may get defensive...

There are many problems within development work. Some of the most obvious difficulties stem from the setting: a 'development agency' tries to influence/change the lifestyles/habits of a different region, while both have different native languages, different cultures, different values, different beliefs, and different perspectives…and sometimes, different goals.

Another problem with development work is also a problem with any kind of work dealing with people anywhere in the world...the people themselves. The brain is not a very logical or rational organ. It has evolved over millions and millions of years to function in a very different lifestyle than the one that has come about since agriculture (about 10,000 years ago) and thus larger communities. Fear and emotions are based deeper in the root of the brain, making them the bosses of our behavior when evoked – overruling good sense or a rational/logical thought process.

How the brain works is this: you often already know what you want to believe…regardless of its validity (you know what you want to believe due to a mixture of your genes at birth, your upbringing, and adulthood experiences). Then, your brain sets out to prove why that is right, regardless of whether it is…meanwhile you can fool yourself into thinking you're being objective. You accept the data/information your brain receives, large and small, that agrees with your stance and it reinforces your beliefs - and you dismiss information that disagrees or you justify why you're still right despite that information. If the topic under debate is not anything too personal you'll notice the information that disagrees with your belief more readily…you can't argue, for instance, about whether it's raining or if a dress is red or that an elephant is bigger than you.

However…the moral intuitions you have about your representation of the world and your representation of yourself in the world (self-identity) are unlikely to be influenced by much evidence. You have to train your brain to be objective and look for information before you make up your mind and train yourself to change your mind even if it goes against what you want to believe…which people do not naturally do.

That's why education and reading good books is so important – because it trains our brain to think more objectively, it introduces us to ideas different from our own, forces us to analyze our own beliefs, it trains us to look at evidence when deciding upon something instead of deciding and then seeking evidence, and it alerts us to how little we actually know. It also teaches us to question those things we were told growing up that we accepted because we were kids or those things we 'feel'. Feelings in some cases are good – for instance reading non-verbal behavior in humans, our intuition is usually pretty good…but that's about where it stops. Feelings about other things are usually wrong…but it's okay to be wrong – being proven wrong should be viewed as enlightening instead of belittling.

One of the things I dislike about our culture is that being 'wrong' is looked at as a character flaw when it should be viewed as a positive thing as long as you're willing to change your mind. Our confidence and self-esteem are shaken when we're wrong. But if you're wrong, you just learned something, and that's what we want to be doing, putting our ideas out there and learning.

Religions of today and of the past are probably the easiest example, and the most fun for me to discuss, because it's the one area of life that will not even admit of the possibility of correction. In this instance, I'll briefly mention Christianity because most people reading this would agree with me if I were picking on Islam or Mormons and I like to cause a stir (interesting observation is how people make fun of other religions that are just as far-fetched as their own…the strongest correlation of what determines your religion is simply where you were born/what religion you were born into).

The theory of evolution, for instance, is supported by an overwhelming amount of evidence…every speck we have points to evolution (if you have something that doesn't, send it to me please)…so much evidence that anytime someone wants to argue creationism I feel like I'm arguing with a kid that hasn't done their reading or has a mental block against things they don't want to hear. But over a third of America's population doesn't want to accept it because a book written by people thousands of years ago that says you can sell your daughter into slavery or that you can't touch your wife while she is menstruating or that all the land animals were saved from a flood by going to hang out with Noah or that has a loving God destroying cities and having Moses enslave young girls while killing all the young boys also says that "God" created the world in 7 days and implies it's younger than 10,000 years…and that's the only support for that theory. If the bible said that things fall to the ground because God is actually in the center of the earth holding us to it then people would disagree with the theory of gravity (that all things with mass have a gravitational pull). Luckily, that wasn't included in the bible or Newton would be cast in the same shadow in America as Darwin.

Another example is that we know a virgin birth is impossible, or all evidence points to its extreme unlikelihood in our species. But virgin births seemed to happen frequently when the masses couldn't read or write, when language was yet to be standardized, and when people still thought the world was flat and didn't move…but people will believe it anyhow. Many scholars are pointing out that the passage in the bible with 'virgin' in regards to Mary is more appropriately translated to "young woman" (the word is 'almah') and that the resurrection was added years after it was all written…but something like that still won't influence most people's beliefs. Religion is engrained from childhood and constantly reinforced in our environment…unquestioned faith is seen as a virtue and people don't like changing their mind about something so personal. Growing up and in college, I was a Christian…now I think I was wrong all that time.

Look at how Christians, Muslims, and other religious people of 'peace' find it so easy to be cruel to one another. Look at how long it took for white men to view blacks and women as their equals (and in many places around the world and in the U.S. it still hasn't happened). Look at how long in Europe people were killed for disagreeing with religion or the state (I would certainly have been burned at the stake back then). Look at the struggles homosexuals have even when all evidence points to homosexuality being decided upon in the womb…it's not a "choice". Look at how many people thought the gods lived on Mt. Olympus and Athena sprung from the head of Zeus. Look at how many Americans think America is a "Christian nation" when the founding fathers very clearly wrote "America was not founded as a Christian nation" and men like Benjamin Franklin and Thomas Jefferson were deists, not Christians. Look at the Muslim world today and how many people believe that you have to kill your daughter/sister if someone rapes her, or that apostates should be killed, or that a woman's vote is half of a man's meanwhile their prophet wed an 8 year old girl and thought he saw an angel while baking in a cave in the desert…couldn't just have been delusional. Our beliefs, regardless of how wrong, immoral, or far-fetched they may be, are not easily changed and we can justify just about anything we do. Al Capone thought he was helping the community. Fredrick Douglas commented that the most religious slave-owners were also the most vicious. Lincoln commented how each side of the civil war thought that 'God' was on their side. Our brain's incompetence in being reasonable is just one part of the problem…but it's a big part.

In most religious and political conversations, people are unable to think objectively about their religion or political stance because it is a very personal topic and we get defensive, then emotional – and that blocks any rational thought (I include myself in that as well…though I'm getting better). Those topics deal with our self-identity and once you believe something to be true, regardless of whether it is, you will be able to make the argument to support your desire and it will take an overwhelming amount of evidence to change your mind…if your mind can be influenced at all. If the Republican Party would have gotten around to saying Barack Obama was a Muslim before most people knew he wasn't, Obama would have had a more difficult time. Similar to John Kerry in '04 – most people saw information that he was a coward first…when in fact, he was much braver than his opponents, but the damage was already done and he wasn't able to overcome that first belief people had about him as being weak-kneed and an opportunist.

In most developing countries, the education level is horrendous (the USA isn't that far ahead either); most people don't know how to think objectively. When you don't have much of an education, or live in an area that doesn't get much outside influence, or live in a very conservative area where differing thoughts are not welcome, even the simplest ideas you have are unlikely to be altered. The other day I heard a guy who works at a drug store tell a woman not to feed her sick son oranges, bananas, or other fruits until he gets better. I quickly stepped in, speaking as politely as I could so I wouldn't make them defensive, that my doctor told me that fruits are good for us because it has the vitamins we need to get better. Then the pharmacist tried to explain why – and it was completely ridiculous. I doubt she listened to me.

The way to change people's beliefs is not through logic, because most people don't respond to logic or reason. They have their beliefs, perspectives, and idea of why things are and that won't change because it deals with self-identity, which is very fragile. The way to accepting other perspectives, possibly influencing them, as corny as it sounds, is through the heart. It's to break down the 'me vs. them' barrier when discussing sensitive topics.

A great example of this was mentioned in the New York Times: [“Minds are very hard things to open, and the best way to open the mind is through the heart,” Professor Haidt says. “Our minds were not designed by evolution to discover the truth; they were designed to play social games.” Thus persuasion may be most effective when built on human interactions. Gay rights were probably advanced largely by the public’s growing awareness of friends and family members who were gay.]

One of the reasons Peace Corps is a great social development organization is due to the fact that we stay in one community for 2 years – that is plenty of time to get to know each other. When you care for a person, you're more likely to listen to what they have to say and while they may not change your mind, their differences become more accepted. Once the differences become more accepted, as people, we're more likely to alter our ideas and beliefs. The people where I live have gotten to know me personally and ask me questions about America, food, the economy, swine flu, etc. They listen to me and I listen to them. They no longer think all Americans want war with everyone or that we all eat from cans. Progress.

This blog is longer than usual and it's a bit scattered...but thanks for reading. If you have thoughts/opinions/arguments, I'd love to hear it. I'm a big fan of mental sparring; I think it's healthy as long as each side doesn't take it personally – we're all after a clearer truth and a more peaceful society. There is always a lot we can learn from each other. Being down here, I'm not able to participate as much as I could back home in debates…especially since most Peace Corps volunteers share similar views (about politics at least).

Much love,
Jake

Going to the chapel! (and my official end date)

Recently, two friends visited – Gabe Miccio & Kristian Schumm. Gabe and I have been friends since high school…which is getting to be a long time. To get to the point – Gabe and Kristian have been dating for about 4 years and Gabe popped the question the morning they arrived to Machu Picchu…and against all earthly wisdom, she said YES! (just kidding, Gabe's a great guy, she's lucky to have him). Congratulations to the two of them. I look forward to seeing the family they create.

While they were here, we spent time in Lima and Ancash, and then they went to Cusco. I was already going to be in Lima when they arrived for the "close of service" meeting so it was great timing. We were able to spend the down time I had for that meeting and then they came up to where I live for a couple days.

While here, they got to see me perform a song at a "Bob Dylan Birthday Bash". One of the American cafes up where I live is owned by someone who loves Bob Dylan. She brought a musician up from Lima to perform covers and a few others from around the area performed a song or two. Those who have known me for a long time might think hell froze over because I have never been innately talented in music and I could never carry a tune (though I do love to try). In fact, one of my friends (Jim Garvin) once said something like, 'when Jake dies, right before, he is going to belt out the most beautiful note to astound us all.' Which was him saying that it'll take that long and it'll be that much of a struggle for me. Well, I still wouldn't say I am an able singer or a talented guitarist – but I've improved dramatically from what I once was to what I am now (I think). I performed, "Masters of War" by Bob Dylan. Since I was in Lima the week before, I wasn't able to practice as much as I would have liked but even if I had, I was so nervous I don't think it would have mattered anyhow. I forgot some of the words and messed up the strumming a little bit – but overall, it came out alright for my first actual performance in front of a lot of people I don't know.

I submitted my request for my official finish date: August 19th and it was approved. A friend from home (Tim Foley) has also decided to do the trip home with me. He recently graduated from Columbia journalism school and has the time and the desire, so he and I will be northward bound at that time.

I hope everyone is doing well!
Love,
Jake