Flexibility.
One of the core requirements of being a Peace Corps Volunteer.
In my two years in Peru, I’ve learned to go-with-the-flow, adapt, think on my feet, change plans as I’m actually in the midst of them, etc.
This past “swearing-in season” only furthered the importance of having this ability. While I thought I was prepared for most everything as I had blundered my way through ceremonies the year before, I still managed to put myself and another volunteer in a situation where we had to quickly readjust plans to fit our circumstances.
One of the schools that sought me out to swear-in Environment Brigadiers also asked me to lead a training session for those Brigadiers. They left the content up to me, but basically it was supposed to be all about the environment and the responsibilities the students held as environmental leaders in their classrooms.
My limited thinking – “Okay, so teach them why it’s important to throw trash in bins and not on the floor, what recycling is, and how to not waste resources.”
When I realized this was entirely out of my expertise, and that I had Environment Volunteers nearby, I turned to one for support and invited my quasi-site mate, Sarah, (she lives in one of my town’s annexes) to give the presentation.
She spent a good amount of time preparing, and her outline was fantastic. It would have been a killer session, if all the circumstances were as they should have been.
The morning of the training, we entered an auditorium of 50 or so students. My heart immediately sank and I questioned whether I had understood the invitation correctly. There was no way all 50 students were a part of the Environment Brigade. I asked the teacher in charge and she confirmed that ALL of the brigadiers and representatives for the various programs were present.
WHAT?
I felt awful. I had placed another volunteer in a tough situation. But, we powered through, using the various groups to our advantage- having them work in their teams for activities, explaining why protecting the environment was important for each group. An hour and a half later, we ended, slightly defeated – but mostly in good spirits. We had managed to get through a lot of the information and not to lose entire control of the students aged 5-12.
At the end, we asked the teacher if I had misunderstood the invitation. She confirmed that it was originally supposed to be only the Environment Brigade, but the staff had decided to take advantage of the opportunity to educate all of the class representatives. Understandable.
While it wasn’t ideal, it was a great lesson learned and we both took away more from the situation than anticipated.
Brittany McGee 