Brittany McGee

About a week ago, I received an invitation to an event at a nearby school. I wasn’t sure where exactly the school was, as it was in one of the 180 annexes of Olmos. I also wasn’t sure that I even knew anyone who worked at the school or attended it. While I was flattered, and impressed that whoever wrote it ALMOST spelled my name correctly (hardly happens here), I wasn’t sure I’d actually go.

That was until 8AM yesterday morning when my site mate’s host mom knocked on my door to tell me that a mototaxi would be at my house around 9:30AM to pick me up.  So I hurriedly showered, threw on nice clothes and my Peace Corps vest, put on a smidge of makeup, made and ate my breakfast and waited for my transportation to arrive.

On my way to the event, I imagined what I was getting myself into. The event was a swearing-in ceremony for the class Brigadiers and Room Monitors. I pictured slipping in a little bit late (the taxi picked me up at 10AM, right when the event was supposed to begin), hanging out in back, clapping and smiling as appropriate.

After winding through the dirt roads, crossing one of the empty rivers and passing several farms, I found myself in front of the school. I walked in, hoping that the ceremony had started and I would be able to blend in.

Wrong.

The ceremony was nowhere near beginning and I was spotted the second I stepped through the giant black doors. The teacher who had coordinated the event excitedly greeted me and led me to a seat up front. She had me write down my name, just under the names of two police officers also in attendance. While it is Peruvian custom to address special attendees at events, my mind began racing, wondering if they needed my name for another reason.

“Okay,” I thought, “So what do I do if they ask me to speak?” All the things about leadership I could think of in Spanish popped into my head and I formed a brief speech, just in case.

Promptly at 11AM, the ceremony began with the raising of the flag and national anthem. No one had mentioned anything about giving a speech, and I hoped I was in the clear.

Pro-tip: Make sure you understand an invitation before showing up to an event. Ask anyone to give you clarity, even if you think you know.

Immediately after the anthem finished, the teacher who was coordinating the event asked the police officers, doctors, principal and me to sit at a table, facing the crowd. On the table were the cords that the newly installed Brigadiers and Class Monitors would be receiving. My heart dropped into my stomach as one of the police officers, the principal and a former student swore-in students one by one.

“Please don’t ask me to do it,” I repeated over and over in my head.

I breathed a sigh of relief as they stopped swearing in individual students and asked a group to come forward. The police officer recited the words to swear them in. She held onto the mic as they left and the next group came up to the front. This was the group of Brigadiers focused on the environment.

I sat in suspense recalling that the invitation I had received specifically had mentioned Environment Brigadiers. If I was supposed to do anything, it would be with this group. But as the students received their cords, the police officer held onto the microphone. As she was about to speak, the Emcee stopped her and spoke the words I had been dreading, “We’d like to invite Brittany McGee, the volunteer from Peace Corps, to swear in the brigadiers.”

I tried politely declining, but it was too late. I whispered the police officer that I had no idea what I was supposed to say, as it seemed there was an actual speech they all used. My hands shook as I stood up and accepted the microphone. The police officer whispered the words and, repeating her, I mumbled them. Luckily, the mic wasn’t working so no one really heard too much. When I finished, the emcee apologized to the crowd saying that I was still learning Spanish. I could feel my face, hot and likely red, as I sat down.  I did my best to continue smiling throughout the rest of the ceremony as I tried not to obsess over how I just ruined the entire event.

After the initial embarrassment wore off, I found it actually easy to laugh at myself and my major faux pas. In those next fleeting moments, I realized that the universe had just served me a huge slice of humble pie. The ceremony wasn’t about me. While I might have been mortified for what seemed like an unending period of time while I was talking, no one truly was upset about it. The adults appeared understanding. The children all smirked and laughed about it. The number of people who would remember would be minimal.

What they would remember is that I was there, and there are plenty of pictures that will preserve that day. The school and community thought highly enough of me, of Peace Corps Volunteers, to invite me as a special guest. And I took time out of my schedule to be there.  And that’s a huge part of what being a Peace Corps Volunteer is, just being there.