Winning the Lottery

Joining Peace Corps takes a gambling spirit. When you apply, you do not know where you will be sent. Even once a country assignment is given, trainees wait several weeks to know where they will go and what they will be doing. I would say that I hit the jackpot by being assigned to Macedonia and then to working at National Park Pelister in Bitola. I got to visit my new home and office this week and everything looks great. All volunteers are assigned a counterpart with whom we work and partner with in what are known as our primary sites (Park Pelister, in my case). My counterpart is named Aleksandra—she’s in her mid-twenties, has worked for the park for 3 years, and like me studied economics. I had a very leisurely lunch with her and another colleague my first day in town. They both have excellent English, so I will have to push myself to work on my Macedonian at the office. There seem to be about 10 people who work at the office itself and then other staff in the park. I will be sharing an office with Aleksandra once I start in December.

My second day in town, I got to visit the park itself. It was an overcast, not particularly pleasant day in Bitola but in the park, we drove out of the clouds into beautiful sunshine. Ironically, it’s almost as if Peace Corps placed me in my home state of Colorado for 2 years. The topography of the park reminds me a lot of home. Not to mention there were trees in their fall colors and snow on the ground, a classic Colorado combo. Afterwards, I got to see my new apartment. It’s a nice one-bedroom deal in the same building as another volunteer who is doing a final 6 months on top of the 27 she’s already completed. You know Bitola is a good assignment when people voluntarily stay longer. The apartment’s location is hard to beat, near the market, close to the pedestrian mall, and walking distance from work. Plus, there is a washing machine for our apartments and that’s an amenity not to be underestimated.

I have to be careful around my fellow trainees not to rave too much about my great assignment. There are several people who have more of a “traditional” Peace Corps site—a small village without any other volunteers in the same place. I completely recognize that they have a much more challenging situation because they may not have easy access to food, transportation, and the like the way I will. The best I can do is offer to let them visit me in Bitola (and I’ve had lots of people express interest in visiting). I have a feeling that I won't mind playing tour guide in such a wonderful locale.