Brittany Geertsen's memory board

Aman Sidhu From Rachel Ferguson: What I so fondly remember about Brittany was her unrelenting beautiful smile - she could look at you at any given moment in time, smile, and you had no power but to smile back! Her smile was often coupled with her infectious laughter - mostly it was at how silly we found ourselves "immersing" in a new culture and trying to get by in a new place. Trips to the store seemed so laborious early on. While I wasn't placed in the same region as Briittany, she was an unforgettable force for kindness, humility, and authenticity. I'm lucky to have served alongside Brittany, bearing witness to her commitment to serve others.

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Brit S What I remember most about Brittany is her warmth, her smile, her joy and her deep sense of self. We were in the same language class for training (these pictures are of our group and our teacher) which meant we spent long hours together repeating catchy phrases in Spanish and/or laughing and/or counting down the minutes until we could hang out in the warm afternoon sun and relax. I have several sweet memories of just processing and laughing about living in a new place, learning a new language, and learning how to navigate it all. I remember feeling warmth and grounded and welcome in her presence, and it was an honor to go through this experience with her. Holding Brittany and her family in my heart.

Jillian Cordova Last March I was in Washington state for work, the closest we had been geographically since Peace Corps. In fact, I saw signs to get to her town. I text her and we realized how close we were to each other. The pandemic was just starting and I was more worried about getting back home to my family as the world was quickly shutting down. Had I known what the rest of the year would bring I would have done anything to extend my trip if to just hear her say from across the street “dude..... this is crazy”. We used to text each other crazy stories from Peru, but this year we realized their crazy political climate was more relatable then we ever thought. Over the last several months I found myself wanting to shoot her a message on many occasions. Some of our last texts were about the protests in Portland. She sent me a message about the parents of protestors coming out with leaf blowers to protect their kids from tear gas. We would have celebrated the election (although I feel very confident she did up there). I recently found this great Peruvian memes site, and she is the only person I can imagine laughing at some of them as much as me.

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Jillian Cordova As rustic farmhouse decor has become a fad, I often think about these crates Brittany repurposed and hung in her room as shelves. She was very resourceful! I thought it was such a smart and cool idea.

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Jillian Cordova There came a point in our first few months that Brittany decided she wanted me to cut her hair. Why me?!? Who knows...definitely the beginning of our friendship. We had fun with it in the bedroom of her Lima host family’s home.

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Jillian Cordova I cannot say with full confidence what was going on in this picture, but I think I can come pretty close. This looks like a normal day in our very basic beginners Spanish class where Brittany more than likely stood up with full intentions to answer a question in Spanish. Then about half way through she would start speaking in English and then get called out on that, which at that point she would stomp her feet and sit down. We usually looked at each other after every instruction and say “I have no clue what they just said” and laugh! Brittany made those classes so fun, and she never gave up trying and our instructors loved her for that. I loved her for being equally as lost as I was trying to learn a new language

Aman Sidhu From Chelsey Brack The earliest memory I have of Brittany is from our Pre-Service Training (PST) in Chaclacayo, a neighborhood of Lima. Every day at the training center we would break into groups and have language and culture classes, and with breaks in between and at lunch we'd gather at a large wooden table out on a back patio at the center. One day, I was sitting with a group of Peru 16 ladies out at that back table, practicing our Spanish and joking about the discomforts we'd had with our Lima host families, letting out some silliness. Brittany was working on conjugating a verb, or using a new noun in a sentence or something, and out walks Kathleen Hickey (one of our technical trainers/controversial figure), who then corrects Brittany's Spanish. Ever the sweetpea, Brittany smiled and said: "Right, thank you!" and we all assumed we would go back to our conversation. And yet, Kathleen proceeded to offer some other piece of advice to Brittany or correction to Brittany's Spanish, to which Brittany politely responded: "Riiiight", through smiling, gritted teeth. This part made us all stifle laughter. And THEN Kathleen proceeded to say something ELSE along the lines of correcting Brittany/touting her own Spanish skills, and Brittany, nervous-laughing now, responded: "RIIIIIIIIGHT". And finally, this woman walked away, and through persistently gritted teeth and with wide eyes, Brittany laughed her Brittany laugh and we all laughed and howled: "oooooooh, my gosh!" Brittany was so kind and sweet, but she was also real and hilarious. Thinking about this memory I have of her makes me smile so much. Sending so much love to Jonathan and Brittany's family. <3

J-Lynne Brown These fotos were taken during our group trip to Ancash, Peru, where it was super cold and high in the Andes. We had early mornings and long days, but as always, Britt was smiling.

J-Lynne Brown Early training days

Jillian Cordova No- Brittany is not in this picture, but she was beside me in this room of a hotel that endearlingly became known to the three of us as “the orphanage”. This was our Regional training, before we were officially released as full-blown volunteers. This was a two part training. This first part we all traveled up into the mountains of Piura, to this little town called Sicchez. What this picture represents is Aman expressing how we were all feeling about being shoved into a room of a hotel with tons of beds and mattresses filled of hay and windows that looked over plaza, and a place to take a cold shower outside with the pigs and chickens. When your running on little sleep and hunger and you arrive at “the orphanage”, you just don’t have a lot of hope for the next few days. However, as always, this turned into an adventure. I remember us falling deeply in love with favorite Peruvian dish, tortillas and queso fresco with a side if sugary cafe! That would be a meal we would chase down until the end of our service. We also were chauffered around town in an ambulance that was barely equipped to fix a scrape and shouldn’t ever be on any road, let alone the kind you find in the sierra 😬. However, we did what we did best, we sang the National Anthem for the students, we made toys of recycables for mothers of small children, and we made the most of it all.

J-Lynne Brown Our time with Brittany was stolen. Shortly after meeting, I knew that we'd be friends. Her charming smile and hilarious personality, drew me in quick. Our time together during training was too short. I was jealous of my friends in Piura & Tumbes that got to hang out with Britt for the next two years; I had only started to get to know her in Lima before we would be split up! Nevertheless, I knew we had so much more life to share and experience. I can't imagine the grief that Brittany's family and Jonathan are going through - my heart is with you as you continue to process this difficult loss for the years to come. There's no one in this world that could replace Brittany in our lives, but her legacy will live on with each one our stories and memories. I miss you, Brittany, now and always. "Some people come into our lives, leave footprints on our hearts, and we are never the same".

Sarita Peterson In this photo from the final days of orientation I'm struck by my afro sisterhood with Brittany. We didn't make a thing of it, but I remember there were words and looks of empathy as we faced the prospect of our textured hair making it through two years in rural Peru. Respect!

J-Lynne Brown At the end of training and right before "swearing in", all the boys were forced to get haircuts (the long "hippie hair" wasn't acceptable for the formal Peace Corps ceremony). So naturally, we all had to help with Juliet at the realm snipping away with the scissors and the rest of us sitting in Chaclacayo Plaza de Armas, drinking wine out of a box and chatting before we all went to separate provinces.

Jillian Cordova Her heart was large, but so was her sass! That sass saved us many times-like the time we were at a beach and the taxis wanted to price gauge us and we needed to get home. Brittany walked right up to the group of men and let them know just how much we were willing to pay.

Douglas McRae While I was saddened to learn about Brittany's passing, I am heartened by all of these images of her time in Peru and especially with her friends and fellow PCVs. I met Brittany first as a trainee. I remember very well the group of PCTs who came on their site visit to Piura...it was an intense experience, and some people changed their minds shortly after! (This picture is right before that moment, at swearing-in at Santa Eulalia) I remember thinking that Brittany was brave and unflappable. It was clear she was learning Spanish, but she did not appear dismayed or perturbed by whatever activities my fellow piuranos and I had managed to pull together. Much later, Brittany moved to Pampa Elera, just down the road from where I had lived. There are only a few volunteers who ever had the privilege of living in the Valle de Chipillico, and I feel connected even to those I've never met. In this way, I feel a connection to Brittany through our shared experience in this small corner of the world. It is with heavy heart that I read these stories, but I'm happy that those who knew her have come together here to remember and celebrate her tragically short life. Que en paz descanse

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Jillian Cordova A love story ❤️ I remember early on, at training, Brittany said to me “I think we broke up last night”. I said what do you mean “you think?”. She began to tell me some super silly story that sounded much more like a guy saying he was in this and not going anywhere. When I told her my perspective on the perceived “break-up”, she said I might be right. Sure enough, they most definitely did not break up. In fact they were probably the few people whose love grew even deeper as that navigated a long distance relationship for 2+ years. I remember many nights in Piura when Brit was cuddled up next to her laptop skyping with Johnathan. I will always be a bit regretful that I was unable to attend their wedding. Although, I am so glad I got to witness the beginning of a true love story.

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Jillian Cordova Dedicated would probably be an understatement to describe Brittany’s service. She always accomplished everything she put her mind to. I remember her wanting to paint a world map mural on the side of the library. At first she had some people from her town willing to help. She bought lots of colorful paints and supplies. Overtime I believe she completed it alone. It was so nice, and a lot of work to do alone. It was still there when I visited the valley last year.

Jillian Cordova Brittany and BJ were selected from the audience in the restaurant we were eating at to dance. Brit loved it!

Jillian Cordova Some of my favorite times with Brittany, were finding a bit if normalcy in what our friendship probably would have looked like in the States. Brit was good at finding ways to indulge in self care to keep our mental health in check. But this one time she made us an oatmeal honey face mask for us to sit around and binge watch any missed reality tv. We often got pedicures together and would sit and gossip the whole time. Most often we would almost always find a good “pollo a la brasa” spot and follow it up with a good dessert! I got to know Brit during all these moments. I knew she loved and worried about her family. I also knew that she was always planning a future with Johnathan. I was always impressed by the amount of time she put into researching and planning upcoming family and Johnathan visits to Peru. She was wonderful at creating memories.

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Jillian Cordova You may not be able to tell in this picture. But this was taken as we rode up the side of a mountain from Brittany’s mountain site to Aman’s site in Santo Domingo. There was no way she had any signal on her Nokia phone, she was being funny. We more than likely weren’t moving, because if we were we had to hang onto those bars above her head to keep from being thrown around. I remember at one point during that trip the truck stopped for awhile and we couldn’t see outside the back of the truck. We had no clue what was going on around us. But the other locals riding with us didn’t seem worried so we just went with it.

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Jillian Cordova I wish I had many more pictures and stories. Unfortunately, over time so many pictures have been lost. Brittany and I had so many small significant moments together during our down time, hanging out in hammocks or escaping the heat with a oscilating fan blowing on us in one of our rooms. I loved the days when she randomly popped up at my house to chat, they were more often then not. I loved laughing with her until my stomach hurt, sometimes life would just take us there. I loved hating the training center with her, because we were resentful of our bad Spanish. I remember the one time she wanted me to start training to run a marathon with her, on our rocky village streets that we could have broken our necks just trying to take a leisurely walk. I can’t remember every little detail anymore, but I have never forgotten how it felt to have her as a friend. Brittany always gave the best of all she had to everyone. Except chocolate, that was gold, and she wasn’t down for sharing that.

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Aman Sidhu

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Aman Sidhu In the years post Peru, Brit was the kindest and most fun person to catch up with. We'd check in on our life milestones, marriage, my babies, and "this reminded me of you" notes on Instagram. We never physically met up again post Peru, but Brit was and still was a part of life, in all the important moments. We showed up for each other. In the last year my sister-in-law had cancer, and B showed up. When B said she was sick again, I listened, and prayed. My last note to her was me checking in, not realising she'd already left us on Earth.

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Aman Sidhu Commentary on the day we went a hauled chickens from the campo and sold them door to door. A bit like Girl Scouts. From Brittany: “Santo Domingo, Piura. Before Peace Corps I couldn’t have imagined being willing to participate in an activity so crazy as selling live chickens in a sac door to door. I really didn’t know that much about the chicken selling business. I suppose it’s one of those things you just jump into. Either way I’ve learned a lot about being prepared for unexpected opportunities that fall in your lap. I would definitely aprovechar (take advantage of) the experience again if given a second chance.”

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Aman Sidhu From Ana Maria De La Rosa: One of my favorite memories with Brit was standing in a small bakery waiting for our order. We were chatting when all of a sudden a little boy came up to her and pinched her, then quickly ran and hid behind his mom. We both looked at each other in shock and then remembered- there’s a belief among some Peruvian groups that pinching a Black person is good luck. We went from shocked to laughter! Of course no one wants to be touched without consent, yet there was also something touching about people knowing that she was literally seen as Black Girl Magic

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Douglas McRae Candid picture from community garden work at IST in Rinconada-Llícuar, Piura

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Jillian Cordova Brittany’s hair - Her hair not only was just difficult in the sense that she was unable to care for it like she wanted due to the lack of products she needed. But it was also the subject of so many rumors - like the one where people in her town claimed it was a wig and caught her washing it in the creek. Well in this picture, Brittany came to my town to help me with a large Christmas project I was working on in the school. When this picture was snapped, she was yelling at me in english “Dude- if one more person to touches my hair, I’m gone!”, next time I turned around, she was gone.

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Jillian Cordova The kitchen is the heart of so many homes, this is no exception in Peru, even where the kitchen floors and walls may be made of mud. Brittany’s host family’s kitchen was actually pretty amazing, and they made cheese, so we snuck in there pretty often. My favorite part was right outside it had a hammock and a bench built into the wall. It overlooked a banana grove. We spent hours hanging out in that spot, which was often a breezy cool spot. I feel like so many of our coversations were about our families and our post- peace corps plan. Brittany had a lot of them the most significant was her planning towards moving to Oregon to be with Johnathan ❤️ I remember when she started planning to train for a marathon. That always makes me laugh because the terrain was so bad, but she didn’t let that stop her. She chased all of her dreams, and she never let even the bumpy roads get in her way.

Jillian Cordova Mistura 2012- we thought we looked cute! This was our last “hoorah” before we each ended our service and went out different ways! We had the best night tasting food from vendors from all over Peru, dancing, and drinking pisco sours.

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Jillian Cordova Just three girls drinking pisco out on the town! I feel like every time we went out Aman made up some crazy background story for us and Brittany and I would just play off of it.

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Aman Sidhu From Wilfredo Ortega, regional director in Piura: Muy triste lo de Brittany. Cuanto lo siento, cuando me entere me dolio mucho, ella tan joven lleno de vida. Expreso mis condolencias a su familia. Aqui en Piura con el favor de Dios estamos bien. Un abrazo entrañable.

Aman Sidhu From Emilia Villanueva, former Peace Corps Director, Peru, Health Program: Brit was a volunteer with a heart committed to serving people in need. During the time in Peru, she showed empathy, flexibility & love for her work. I’ll remember her as a woman & professional who, despite her obstacles, did not stop. She lives as an example to be followed by many girls, boys, youth & mothers in Peru.

Aman Sidhu From Aman Sidhu When I first met Brittany, we clicked instantly, it was like reuniting with the little sister I never had. Our journey started in Peru as we started off in. I’ll she’s that we’re side by side, and continued on to post Peru life. Brittany was dynamite. She always kept it fun and was always up for an adventure, and boy did we have some adventures. She was a tough cookie and never let anything set her back. She set her goals high and wouldn’t stop short from achieving them with a gold star effort.

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Jillian Cordova Close towards the end of our service, Brittany and I took a walk through our towns and along the “represa” that connected our villages. I remember us finding this quiet clearing and we both snapped pictures of eachother. We had sort of realized we didn’t actually have many pictures of just ourselves in this place we had been living for 2 years. I am glad I have this picture. This is Brit, her hair, her glasses, her tank top, and her skirt in the place she gave her all just like I will alway remember her.

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Aman Sidhu From Josh Higgins: I didn’t know Brit like many of the other volunteers, but even in the few months we spent together in training, and a few visits to Lima thereafter, she made a lasting impression on me. When I first met her, I was immediately struck by the situation she volunteered herself into: a young woman of color who did not speak the language of our host country coming to make a difference - and she did it with a brightness and self-assured energy that touched everyone. Incredible courage. I was, and still am, in awe of her strength. She completely redefined the word for me.  I feel very fortunate to have known Brit. I tell my friends and family about her. I’ll tell my kids about her.

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Jillian Cordova We drank pisco sours, we danced, we laughed. The town came out to watch the crazy Americans act like fools. I feel like this was what our service together looked like, this is also what our friendship looked like.

Jillian Cordova Not a picture of Brittany, but a picture of one of her great accomplishments in those two years. Brittany I teamed up to pull the materials together for each of our “healthy homes” latrine projects. We ordered nearly 100 of these materials. Do you know what 100 cement toilets look like? And what happens when you see them sitting all together at a holding place over an hour from your site and suddenly realize you have to safely transport them down into a very bumpy, rocky, whindy road? I can tell you on behalf of Brit and I, it felt shocking!! We spent weeks carefully planning this project and writing formal requests to our mayor to help, but we hadn’t planned for this day. If you know Brittany, you know she was relentless and not going down without a fight. So she eagerly marched into that Municipality demanding help from the Mayor to no avail. Not to be defeated, brainstorming ideas, we randomly wandered down a street in Las Lomas, and as luck would have it we found the Mayor eating lunch. He called us over to chat. This guy was far from what you would think would embody a Mayor, he usually seemed drunk and the conversations would most always take an inappropriate turn. Without fail, this day was no exception to his peculiar behavior, as we sat down he began to tell me (as he always did) about his impotency issues in the bedroom with his wife. All the while Brittany was kicking me under the table and politely lifting her glass of juice and saying in English “is this really happening?!?!?” - Wouldn’t you know that after that bizarre meeting he promised us a truck and a group of municipality workers to move our materials. So of course, a week or two later Brittany called me up to let me know she had marched right back into the Municipality, dropped the Mayor's, name and I needed to get to Last Lomas because we a truck and a crew of men lined up to move our materials. I must admit, that sometimes when I felt defeated, Brittany was just the person to put everything back on track again. She never allowed anyone to ignore her, and "no" was never a good enough answer.

Aman Sidhu Toward the end of service we hit the food festival in Lima and we did what we always did best - eat, dance and laugh! And that beautiful fro was known far and wide in Peru. Brittany brought a special magic that everyone knew and loved. She flashed that pearly big smile which reassured us life was good and everything would be ok.

Christina Corzine I met Brittany a year or so into my Peace Corps service when she happened to be assigned to an area near me. I was lucky enough to spend time with her before I finished my time in Peru. I instantly liked her and felt she had such a great energy and heart. She lit up the room wherever she went and had the most contagious smile. Once she finished her service we both happened to be working in San Francisco and met up for Peruvian food. We chatted about adjusting to being back in the states and our plans for the future. It breaks my heart that I won't be able to have another reunion with her over pisco sours. Brittany will be remembered and so missed by all of us fellow volunteers and people around the world that she had such an impact on.