Transcript Topless dancing girls and naked boys running on the beach: the Peace Corps experience of Gary DeBoer.

Topless dancing girls and naked boys
running on the beach:
the Peace Corps experience of Gary DeBoer
Welcome Dance
The Ugly American
by Lederer and Burdick, 1958
Peace Corps began under Kennedy in 1961
"And so, my fellow Americans: ask not what
your country can do for you — ask what you
can do for your country.
My fellow citizens of the world: ask not what
America will do for you, but what together we
can do for the freedom of man.
To those people in the huts and villages of
half the globe struggling to break the bonds of
mass misery, we pledge our best efforts to
help them help themselves..."
— President John F. Kennedy
See video of announcment
"The spirit of the Peace Corps springs from
the deepest wells in our culture, from the
reasoned and strongly felt impulses of our
people to share with their neighbors their
caring and their labor."
— President Jimmy Carter
"Each one of us is responsible for building
the society we want. Peace Corps volunteers
do that with people-to-people exchanges,
using their energy, their spirit, and their
creativity to solve problems. This is the
American way. Once we see a need, we want
to serve — even when the neighbor we reach
out to help is halfway around the world."
— President Ronald Reagan
PC Goals
1. Provide appropriate technical support for
host country.
2. Allow other countries to get to know
Americans and learn about American
culture.
3. Bring back the international experience to
the US, through talks like this one, so that
Americans can learn of other cultures.
My Peace Corps Adventure
•
•
•
•
Applied during senior year
Took summer job while awaiting result
Was accepted as a volunteer
Was offered an invitation to Kiribati
Went to the library to find where Kiribati was…
Accepted invitation
Had wisdom teeth removed
Greetings by Dance
Dancing Girls
Greetings by Dance
Dancing Boys
Common Misconceptions
1. Kiribati people are not starving
•
Fish, crab, lobster, papaya, breadfruit, toddy…
2. Kiribati people have homes
•
Homes are appropriate for the geography
3. Kiribati people have Jesus
•
Protestants, catholics, bahai, mormons most recently
4. Kiribati people have health care
•
Free to citizens and aliens
5. No rabies, no malaria, no hurricanes, no unadopted
orphaned children, no nursing homes….
Can you say all that for the US?
Areas for development…
1. Education – only 10-20% go to high
school
2. Population related
•
•
•
•
Family planning
Urban planning in Tarawa
Outer island planning to relieve population
pressure in Tarawa
Fresh water and waste water system
3. Resource development
•
Fisheries, seaweed, copra, limited tourism
These are the needs Kiribati have identified for themselves
Lessons Learned
Differences in Customs
•
•
•
•
•
English language
Girls wear pants
Eat potato
Family car
Children mature and leave
home
• Boys hold hands of girls
• Never say a man’s wife is
fat
•
•
•
•
•
Kiribati language
Girls wear skirts
Eat coconut
Family canoe
Extended families are the
norm
• Girls hold hands of girls
• A fat wife means a man is a
good provider
Lessons Learned
Differences in Values, less observable
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Independence
Outstander, aggressive
Initiative
Punctuality
Youth and energy
Technology is the answer
Tradition is a road block
Visitors are to be put up with
Low context
• Community
• Fit in (don’t beat your opponent too
much) cooperate
• Consultation
• Patience
• Age and wisdom
• Community policy is the answer
• Tradition is the glue that holds
community together
• Visitors are an opportunity to
demonstrate your values
• High context
Lessons Language
Te taetae ni Kiribati
Greetings
Te Kamauri
Jim:
Hello!
Tim:
Ko na mauri !
John:
Hello!
Tiaon:
Mauri !
Jim:
How are you?
Tim:
Ko uara?
John:
Thank you, I'm fine.
And you, how are
you?
Tiaon:
Ko rab'a, I marurung.
Ao ngkoe, ko uara?
Jim:
I'm fine also, thank
you.
Tim:
I marurung naba, ko
rab'a.
The mission of Peace Corps parallels
incarnational ministry
•
•
•
•
•
spiritually mature
Relational
culturally engaged
missional
transformational
Pay Mays, Christian Ministry, LeTourneau University
Appropriate Technology:
1. Culturally engaged
2. Uses local resources
3. Sustainable
For more information on the Peace Corps
or Kiribati try the links below:
www.peacecorps.gov
CIA Factbook
Kiribati related links
Trip to Fanning Island (video)
Dancing Girl (video)
More Dancing Girl (video)
Contemporary Dancing Group (video)
Kiribati Future (video)
More Kiribati Future (video)
Kiribati Evacuation (video)