Bob Beretta, 41, is leaving his South Lake Tahoe home of five years to join the Corps in September in a computer science teaching program that started last year in Tanzania, Africa
Acquisition of worldly belongings can wait
Caption: Dan Thrift / Tahoe Daily Tribune Bob Beretta sits in an empty room of his house that he is preparing to leave for two years on a trip to Tanzania.
Susan Wood
swood@tahoedailytribune.com
July 12, 2004
A tour of duty in the Peace Corps seems to involve a battle of ridding oneself of worldly possessions and obligations - on the run and at home.
Bob Beretta, 41, is leaving his South Lake Tahoe home of five years to join the Corps in September in a computer science teaching program that started last year in Tanzania, Africa.
One of the hardest parts became the trimming down of his possessions at his North Upper Truckee Road home, which he condensed in one bedroom and half the garage.
"It helped that I didn't have much stuff. I gave away a lot, and gave back some," he said, referring to family and friends off the hill who left ski equipment at his house over the years.
"It's very liberating to pack up your life to leave for two years," he said.
The Peace Corps restricts its workers to an 80-pound pack, but Beretta believes his weight will be far less.
The mistake most people make is packing a year's worth of supplies, he said. Toothpaste is sold in even the most rural of villages, which is the environment he requested. He expects to live and work under the shadow of Mount Kilimanjaro, the highest peak on the continent.
"The question will be how I'm going to withstand 96-degree heat every day, so I'll probably go up the mountain," he said.
He's very excited about the opportunity to make the ranks of the army of 170,000 workers. The Peace Corps, which started its volunteer program in 1961 and has since served 137 countries, pays off its workers at the end of their stint with a lump sum of traveling cash and a plane ticket anywhere. Many return to the far reaches of the planet because workers are also offered lifetime access to their facilities that are similar to hostels.
Beretta, who works for Apple Computer in his home-based business, paid off his financial obligations - including his 1,800-square-foot home. A house sitter will pay the property taxes, as he lives on an estimated $200-a-month stipend.
"You're not supposed to be rich compared to the people you're living with. The Silicon Valley has been very good to me, so I'm able to do it," he said. "I get to go loose for a while from my responsibilities."
Beretta's first freeing thoughts of fiscal independence led him to a grand plan for a dream trip in which he could practice being "the ultimate slacker."
"I wanted a career change. At one point, a person needs to decide what the next step (in life) is. I could buy more toys, but I wanted to do something more meaningful," he said.
He feels traveling gives him as much of an education as his students. He wants to delve into the African culture.
"What I get out of it is a learning experience," said Beretta, who will also teach math and science.
"They're at the very beginning of the learning curve of computers," he said.
Even though he's spent over a month climbing in South America and five cycling in Europe, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology graduate said he's nervous about teaching.
Beretta relishes the idea of his teaching his class to establish a Web commerce network that would enable the students to sell items through a computer-based distribution channel. He's heard of one African who has sold drums to the United States in such a way.
"They don't even need a computer. They can just go to a coffee shop and sell here for probably $275. That's a fortune to them," he said.
- Susan Wood can be reached at (530) 542-8009 or via e-mail at swood@tahoedailytribune.com
