Brittany McGee

“Hi, you’re from Peace Corps, right? Can I talk to you for a few?” an older professor asks.

“Sure!” I reply.

“I attended a lunch at the embassy once. It was really nice. The house is really beautiful. You know the Ambassador right?”

“Not really. I was at the Embassy once.”

“Well, I went there after I finished a class the Embassy hosted. It was really great. Listen, do you think you could ask the Ambassador to talk to the Ministry of Education? The students should really start learning English in primary school. They come to secondary not knowing anything and it’s better if they start learning sooner. It’s very important that they learn English.”

“I really don’t know him or anyone who could do that. Peace Corps stays out of policy-making. We work on projects that the country asks us to work on, and English is not one of them. I guess I can ask around.”

“Please, talk to someone. It’s important.”

Or so the conversation went; I might be paraphrasing a bit. But, the point is still the same.

Had I never left the United States, I would not have realized that some countries consider English “the universal language” and that knowing English typically means you’re well educated, and often times, better off.

Growing up in the state of Texas, every high school student was required to take 2 years of a foreign language to graduate. In Plano, we were given the opportunity to begin the language learning journey in middle school. When I started learning Spanish at the age of 12 in 7^th grade, I chose the language because of how many countries spoke it. In fact, it appealed to me because I knew I’d someday use it, as opposed to French, or German, or Latin.

English is a mandatory course in secondary schools across Peru. Unfortunately, at Julio Ponce, they only study it once a week for two class periods (or 80 minutes). I don’t know about you, but I would not learn anything studying only once a week, especially not a language.

But, everyone still considers learning English important. Everyone in my community has asked me to teach them, their child or their neighbor English. And, honestly, I really don’t mind.

Why?

I like being able to share my native language with people. It’s a part of who I am, my culture. Sharing my culture is Peace Corps’ 2^nd goal.

Through teaching English, I’ve been able to get to know a class of 12 year old girls at Julio Ponce. I’ve also gained confidence with their regular teacher, who has now asked for help working on another project. Teaching English has allowed me to connect with my nieces, nephews and the neighborhood kids; they come over on weeknights and we learn and play. And being open to teaching English has opened the doors to meeting other potential co-workers and friends.

So, while teaching English is not part of my job, or my program goals, it’s something that I’ll continue to do to share myself and connect with my community.

However, I will have to disappoint that professor since there’s nothing I can do about the Ministry of Education.