Most people don’t know much about the Peace Corps. If they do, it’s because a family member did it or they played around with the idea a few times. A woman I met back in America said “That’s my generation!” (And she was right–the 1960s did open the world up to Peace Corps Volunteers.) When I called to cancel my local NPR subscription, the woman was so kind and excited for me–another generational thing.

Most people, when you tell them that you’re going to the Peace Corps, assume that you’re going to Africa or Asia. And a majority of Peace Corps Volunteers do end up in those parts of the world. When you tell someone that you’re going to Eastern Europe, however, a few things happen. They may ask, “Why is the Peace Corps in Europe?” Or they might say “I didn’t think the Peace Corps needed to go to Europe.”

And maybe they have a point. Europe, the continent, is very well developed…for quite a few reasons. However, the end of Yugoslavia along with quite a few other factors means some Eastern European countries are still developing. And Peace Corps will go where it is invited. The governments of these countries obviously believed that volunteers would do good work here. And of course we have. Our “hardships” might look different, and the people we serve may not seem like they need our help, but obviously the Peace Corps organisation believes that the skills that we as volunteers bring are worthwhile.

That being said, Peace Corps in N Macedonia is very different than say…Peace Corps in Benin. The infrastructure is better: electricity and running water work as expected 99.9% of the time. Transportation is better; a journey to the capital of Benin (Porto-Novo) takes three days for some volunteers, versus maybe an hour and a half at most for me to Skopje. Life is very different for us here in N Macedonia, and sometimes I wonder if I’m really “doing” Peace Corps. Our struggles may be more spiritual or mental than physical. However, every volunteer’s service is worthy. We’ve chosen to spend two years away from the comfort of family and friends, to do a difficult and sometimes nebulous job.

I think “Posh Corps” is sometimes seen as a friendly jibe, a bit of a joke amongst volunteers. Sometimes, though, it denigrates the work that volunteers do in those countries, N Macedonia included. I’ve used it in a self-deprecating manner, so I’m not too bothered by it. I’m still am, and always will be, a Peace Corps volunteer.