Joining the Peace Corps and Pursing My Master’s in Moldova

There are many ways to go about volunteering abroad. You can pay for the experience, you can travel with a missionary group, a doctor, a non-governmental organization, with your school or university, or even through a government organization. After much deliberation over what to do next in my life I decided to make the most of my master’s program by pursuing a Master’s International through both the Peace Corps and Cornell University.

After twelve months of waiting, studying and more waiting I finally received my Peace Corps placement in the Republic of Moldova. With seven months until departure I had plenty of time to discover all the wonderful things about my soon-to-be host country. But first, I just needed to do a Google search to figure out exactly where in the world Moldova was located… Europe! Eastern Europe! How exciting!

Flash forward about sixteen months and you will find me on a futon-like bed in a cozy room with orange wall paper, located in a small Soviet bloc-style apartment on the main street in a village of 8,000 people in the raion or municipality of Orhei in the Republic of Moldova.

My professors and I got to work on dissecting the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats of a post-Soviet republic tucked between Romania and the Ukraine. What would I research? What does an agriculture and rural business development volunteer do?

Flash forward about sixteen months and you will find me on a futon-like bed in a cozy room with orange wall paper, located in a small Soviet bloc-style apartment on the main street in a village of 8,000 people in the raion or municipality of Orhei in the Republic of Moldova.

Joining the Peace Corps and Pursing My Master’s in Moldova.

And to tell you the truth, I don’t know many of the answers to the questions I came here with. I am still trying to find interesting research opportunities. My job description changes with my underwear, on a daily basis. And I’m still not sure if my English club, monthly women’s group seminars or presence in this village is making a difference but that is exactly why my commitment to this community is for two years.

Everyday I meet new people, find new challenges and opportunities and learn new idioms and cultural norms. If you would like to follow my adventures more closely please check out my blog.

Photo for Joining the Peace Corps and Pursing My Master’s in Moldova by Emily Getty.