A CED Volunteer in Albania: An Interview with Aimee

In this interview, we hear from Aimee Coronado. Aimee is working as a Peace Corps CED volunteer in Albania. What Aimee shares gives us a better understanding of the work volunteers do. We learn about the challenges, rewards, and personal growth that happens from volunteering in a new place. Aimee talks about living in a different country, working with local people, and dealing with surprise situations. Join us as we learn about Aimee’s journey and see how volunteering with Peace Corps can change lives.

Table of Contents

• Volunteer Experience and Motivation
• Living Arrangements and Cultural Integration
• Surprises and Challenges
• Advice and Support
• Practical Tips and Language Learning
• Final Thoughts

Volunteer Experience and Motivation

1. Can you tell us more about serving as an CED volunteer in Albania?

In Albania, we use the term Organizational Development (OD) instead of Community Economic Development (CED) to describe our volunteers because we are placed with a variety of organizations around the country. While I was placed at a small municipality in southeastern Albania, some were placed with NGOs, orphanages, businesses, etc.

Trying to find my place

As OD volunteers, we probably have the loosest definition of our job, which is both a blessing and a curse. We are told that we are there to “help”, which really could mean any number of things, and it’s up to you to decide how you’ll be helpful. Half of my battle during service has been figuring out exactly how and who I could help. Being used to having my role and duties clearly defined in the US, the complete opposite was a huge adjustment. 

“Avash avash” or “slowly slowly”, as they say here in Albania, I’ve figured out where I can make the biggest impact. However, I’ve also done plenty of sitting around and twiddling my thumbs. My site itself is a tiny “city” (although it’s really just a small town) at the foot of the mountains whose summits share the border with Greece. With a population of just about 2000 people, there’s not much of anything to do here, so sitting around is kind of inevitable.

Ups and downs depending on the season

My assigned counterpart is the “projects specialist” here at the municipality, and her job is to prepare projects, write grants, and apply to open calls. While there’s plenty of impact to be made here, the problem we often run into is that there are no calls open that we are eligible to apply for. So, while there’s lots of potential impact, the actual impact we can make is dependent on the volume of calls we can make. Typically, late winter and spring are the busiest for us as most calls get posted around this time, but summer in Europe is break time, so work can be super slow in that season.

The large fluctuation of available work to do with my primary assignment has given me plenty of time to pursue secondary projects. In fact, my first couple of projects were secondary because I got to site on December 15th, right before the holidays, and Europeans take their vacation and holiday time seriously. 

My real work with my placement and counterpart didn’t start until late January, when I began learning how to crochet at work because I was so ridiculously bored. Crocheting here is done mostly by the elderly, and my co-workers seeing me do this was entertaining, but also served as a wakeup call, realizing they hadn’t given me anything to do or help with.

Finding my stride

Since then, I’ve helped apply for over 15 national and international grants focusing on areas like youth, tourism, and cultural heritage. I’ve also assisted in translating tourism brochures and information that has gone on to be showcased in international tourism fairs. Despite my slow start and initial dislike of my site, I’ve really grown to appreciate the quiet, slow, and peaceful way of life in my sleepy mountain town. 

2. What motivated you to join the Peace Corps and choose Albania?

It all stared with an AirPods raffle

Before college, I had never even heard about the Peace Corps, but one day while hanging around the campus center, I noticed there was a little fair going on. This ended up being the program’s fair, and the information booth was doing a raffle for AirPods, which you could enter by getting a stamp from each booth on a sheet they were passing out. I love a good raffle and had a couple of hours before my next class, so I figured, “Hey, why not?”.

As I went around the fair collecting my stamps and hearing about the different programs my university had to offer, I ended up at the Peace Corps booth. A master’s student and Coverdell recipient was running the booth and told me about her experience in the Peace Corps. She also explained how, now, because of her service, her degree was being paid for, and she received a living stipend in addition. “Travel? Helping people? Free college? Sign me up!” I thought. She then explained that our school offered the Peace Corps Prep certificate, and I could also receive a minor in peace studies as the completion requirements overlapped.

Peace Corps Prep

I took all the informational packets and contact info, finished my stamp sheet, and went on my merry way. After some more research, I decided that this was something I wanted to pursue, so I set up a meeting with the coordinator (shoutout to José!). Together, we looked at my past classes and found that I was already well on track to earn both the certificate and the minor, and the remaining classes would fit perfectly with my graduation plan. Once I was in my last semester, he would connect me with a recruiter, and I would hopefully start my Peace Corps journey. This was in late 2019, and well, we all know what happened shortly after.

Waiting during the pandemic

In May 2021, I graduated from the University of Hawaiʻi at Manoā with my bachelor’s in business management, Peace Corps prep certificate, and minor in peace studies. Unfortunately for me, the Peace Corps had not yet reopened positions (due to the pandemic). In the meantime, I got a job and waited until the Peace Corps opened back up. I almost applied to the first positions that opened, which were set to depart mid-2022, but right around that time, we had another COVID surge, and I decided to wait until things got more stable. 

Submitted my application for North Macedonia

North Macedonia had CED positions open. I did a bit of research and was attracted by the natural beauty and culture. I also had been considering moving to Europe for a while, so this would serve as a test drive for that. Finally, on December 31st, 2022, I pressed submit on an application to be a CED volunteer in North Macedonia. Originally, I had considered Peru due to Spanish being my first language, but at the time I decided to apply, there were no CED positions in Peru, and I was more than ready for a change. While my job was comfy, it wasn’t anything related to my degree or career path, and there was no opportunity for growth, which quickly led me to feel stagnant.

Several doors close…

I did a last-minute interview in February while on a layover, and I got a response about two weeks later that, due to the competitiveness and limited slots for the position, there were no longer any CED spots, but they could offer me a TEFL position. I declined because I had no teaching experience and no desire to be a teacher, and asked if I could be considered for any other CED positions either in Europe or South America. Shortly after, I was sent another offer for CED in Moldova, which I also declined due to its proximity to the ongoing war in Ukraine, and on advice from some Moldovan RPCVs via Reddit.

And another door finally opens!

Starting to lose hope and worried I was being too picky, I started looking into my other option of grad school, but then in April 2023, I received my invitation to serve as a CED volunteer in Albania to depart in October. Almost 6 years of planning had all come to this moment, and yet I was apprehensive. Was I truly ready to leave everything behind? The answer, after a day or two of thinking it through, was yes! 

Living Arrangements and Cultural Integration

3. Tell us more about your home situation

My host family

All Albania volunteers are required to live with a host family for the first 6 months at site. Afterwards, if we can find an independent living option, we are free to move out once approved. My host family at site was an elderly couple with two older kids who are both living in the UK. They run a small guesthouse out of their home, and my room was one of the guesthouse rooms. I was about a 5-minute walk from the square, which is also where my work is.

Deciding to move out

Although they were super sweet, I did choose to move out once the time came due to several factors. While being babied can be nice for a while, I’m a very independent person, so being treated like a five-year-old got old fast. I also really enjoy cooking and baking, but Albanian’s tend to be a bit territorial about the kitchen, and guests are expected not to lift a finger. This resulted in me being given only one day a week to cook something for my host family, and they would randomly decide when that day would be.

On top of that, I’m a pescatarian, and I was placed about as far from the ocean as you can get in Albania. The diet here is also VERY meat-heavy, and my host parents ate a traditional diet. They were often confused about what to feed me. In my first week at the site, I had butter noodles for dinner 5/7 days, and I began worrying about my health. Eventually, after some help from the Peace Corps staff, I started getting salads and a bit more variety.

My 5th floor apartment

My co-workers helped me find a great apartment when the time to move out came, and I’ve been there since June 2024. It’s a communist era 2-bedroom, one-bath apartment on the 5th floor. Fun fact: most apartment buildings in Albania that were built during communism are only 5 floors because if you added more, you were required to install an elevator, which naturally increased the cost. 

My apartment has everything I need, plus a great view of the mountain! I have a washer, stove/oven, wood-burning stove for heat, futons for guests, and 24/7 running water and electricity. My living room provides me plenty of room to exercise, which is good because my site doesn’t have a gym. 

Food adjustments

Food-wise, even though I’m in control now, it’s still a bit hard. Vegetarian alternatives are limited, but I’m fortunate to have tofu and protein powder available in my shopping city. The produce here is excellent due to my region being mostly farms, so salads and stir-fried veggies are a big part of my diet. Dairy products are also great; yogurt and cheese are key staples in my daily meals. 

Being Mexican, I grew up eating super flavorful food with tons of herbs and spices, making adjusting to Albanian food somewhat difficult. It also makes finding herbs, spices, and hot sauce hard since they’re not typically used in Albanian cuisine. Most commonly, foods are seasoned with salt, pepper, garlic, onion, and oregano, meaning I’ve had to slowly scour for and build my spice collection outside of that. 

Cooking Mexican food here has proved to be incredibly difficult, mainly because there are little to no hot peppers and there are no tomatillos, which are essential to most recipes in some form. Due to this, I mostly cook Asian and American dishes and have had the opportunity to experiment with various substitutes for ingredients I can’t find here. 

Home Sweet Home!

Even with the challenges and extra work that come with independent living, I’ve loved it. Although I understand the value of host families, coming home from work and having to continue struggling with the language and socializing can be exhausting, especially as an introvert. There’s nothing better than getting home, changing into some comfy clothes, and binging some Netflix, and living independently gives me much more freedom to do so!

4. Any memorable experiences or interactions you’ve had?

During my time with my training host family, I decided to make them an apple pie. My host family really enjoyed it, especially my host mom. And in trying to practice my Shqip (the Albanian name for the Albanian language). I tried explaining the other flavors of pie that are common. In Albanian, when referring to mixed berries, they use a term that directly translates to “forest fruit”. 

Unfortunately for me, the crude word for female genitalia and the word for forest are very similar. Confusing the pronunciation, I ended up saying that we make pies made of p***y fruit instead of forest fruits. My host family broke out in hysterical laughter, and after a few minutes, finally explained what I had actually said. Thankfully, everyone thought it was hilarious, including me, despite the slight embarrassment. From then on, I’ve been very careful when pronouncing forest. 

Surprises and Challenges

5. What has surprised you most about challenges in Albania?

It’s truly surprised me how things I’d consider minutiae back home aren’t so minute after all. Coming in, I thought that the bigger, glaring differences were going to be the hardest to adjust to, but it’s the mundane, day-to-day things that I’ve struggled most with. Things like dealing with the cold, not having a dryer, difficulty finding ingredients for things, lack of good snacks, etc., are what’s really whittled me down slowly. 

Too much free time?

Another challenge I’ve encountered is the huge amount of free time. Working with the American mindset of “if you’re not producing, you’re not productive”, doing a whole lot of nothing most of the time has been hard. 

The first couple of months at site, I genuinely thought I was going to go insane because I had so much free time both at work and at home, yet nowhere to go and nothing really to do with it. There were many points where I questioned why I was doing this at all if my main activities consisted of watching Netflix and crafting.

Appreciating the quiet moments

Over time, I’ve learned to appreciate the lack of things to do, and it forced me to be okay with relaxing and doing nothing. Before the Peace Corps, I was the kind of person who needed to always have a packed schedule and hardly ever took a break. I was caught in a vicious burnout cycle, but now I can appreciate the quiet moments. In my last month here, I’ve also come to the realization that I’ll likely never have this much free time again until I retire. So, I’ve let myself really sit back, relax, and enjoy my last bits of peace before jumping back into the rat race. 

6. Could you share some of the secondary projects you have been involved?

GLOW Code

The secondary project that I am most proud of would have to be Girls Leading Our World with Code, or GLOW Code. I hosted two editions of the GLOW Code camp, one in the summer of 2024 and the second in the summer of 2025. This camp is a two-week girls’ empowerment and coding program that was started by the previous cohort to mine, A24. Local girls from 6th-12th grade are given the opportunity to learn HTML and CSS, identify community issues, and propose digital solutions. 

Building on the GLOW Code foundation, I was able to host GLOW+ in my second year of GLOW. This was a more advanced, one-week program for our 2024 GLOW Code alumni. The curriculum focused on advanced coding topics, résumé writing, and interview skills to prepare girls for future academic and professional opportunities.

Hosting a GLOW Code also allowed me to establish an after-school GLOW Club for girls to continue building computer literacy, communication, and leadership skills. My girls practiced email writing, typing, and fundraising to support future iterations of GLOW Code, ensuring the sustainability of the program.

Animal Rescue collaboration

Another secondary project that I didn’t expect to be doing, but has been near and dear to my heart, has been an animal rescue collaboration. This project is something I’ll be taking home with me, which makes it particularly special. Through this project, I have been able to partner with Lucky Paws Rescue in Albania, People for Animal Care and Kindness (P.A.C.K.) in Tacoma, Washington, and a rescue organization in Vancouver, Canada, to assist in the international relocation of two rescued dogs. 

One of these dogs, Sissu, is a dog I personally rescued and have been fostering at my home since August. A group of us found her on the side of the road in a fellow volunteer’s village at only 2 months old. She was severely injured after being attacked by a larger dog, and we decided to rush her to the vet, hoping to give her a chance of survival. Although the initial prognosis looked grim, she pulled through, and I have been caring for her ever since. Her survival prompted me to reach out to both local and international rescues to find her a forever family since I unfortunately already have a full house back in the US with 4 cats and one dog (can you tell this isn’t my first rescue?). 

Lucky Paws Rescue, here in Albania, and People for Animal Care and Kindness (P.A.C.K.), back home in Washington, have graciously offered to help me find Sissu a happy ending. Once I COS, I will serve as a flight volunteer to safely transport both her and an additional dog from Lucky Paws to their new rescues abroad. Sissu will be taken in by P.A.C.K., which I’ve set up myself, and Punky, the other dog hitching a ride with me, will be taken in by a rescue in Vancouver, Canada, where I’ll be flying into. In addition to directly helping these dogs, this collaboration has helped me raise awareness of the need for flight volunteers to support ongoing animal rescue efforts from Albania.

Advice and Support

7. What advice would you give to someone considering serving as a CED volunteer in Albania?

Expect nothing. I think the biggest mistake many Peace Corps volunteers make is expecting their service to be a certain way. You see the Instagram posts and hear the success stories, and I think it creates an idea in your head of being this great superstar volunteer, but what does that look like on a daily basis? How many failed projects or hours of sitting around were behind their success? 

These are things I hardly ever see highlighted, and it’s a shock to realize a huge part of the PCV experience is failure, rejection, loneliness, and overall struggle. Whether it’s the culture, work ethic, food, living situation, or maybe all the above, I don’t think that there’s any volunteer out there who hasn’t dealt with constant hardship in some way. 

I thought I would be saving puppies and orphans on a daily basis, but those feel-good success moments have been very small parts of my service as a whole. Of course, those are the moments you’ll remember most in the end, but it’s important to acknowledge the not-so-good moments as well. That said, because you go through so much suck, it makes the good moments feel even better and truly makes you appreciate how far you’ve come.

The Peace Corps is the hardest thing I’ve done in my life so far, and maybe it’ll be the hardest thing I’ll ever do, but I know now that because I was able to get through this, I’ll be able to get through anything.

Practical Tips and Language Learning

8. Anything that you packed or didn’t pack that you’d like to tell future Albania volunteers?

Packing for the weather

I’m a serial overpacker, and packing was hell, but pretty much everything I was able to pack has been useful. One thing I’d recommend is researching the weather in the country very well. Find the hottest and coldest places (in Albania, we have all seasons) and pack for both because you never know where you’ll end up. 

I packed based on the average weather and ended up getting put in one of the coldest areas of Albania. I’ve had to buy more clothes for the cold, but I’m glad I did pack a bit of everything for each season because my training site was still very warm when we arrived. It’s good to bring a few looser and maybe tighter clothes as well, since your weight will likely fluctuate.

Vacuum-seal bags!!!

Another thing that was a lifesaver (especially for those bulky winter clothes) was vacuum-seal bags. Amazon sells them for cheap with a hand pump included. Make sure to bring that pump with you because you’ll be unpacking and repacking a lot until you get to the site. They’ve been super useful, especially with all the stuff the Peace Corps will give you once in-country. I came here with my luggage at the weight limit, but space-wise, I still had some room in my suitcases, so I was able to fit the Peace Corps thing in there once in country.

I’d recommend packing an additional small to medium-sized duffel bag because the amount of stuff you’ll accumulate, even if you don’t buy anything, is ridiculous.

Try some online shopping research

For Albania, I was able to find the websites of big retailers in the cities and get an idea of what’s available in the country, so I didn’t have to worry about bringing certain things.

Shoes, shoes, shoes…

I also brought about 20 pairs of shoes, and don’t regret it one bit because they almost all eventually got trashed due to the harsh road/sidewalk conditions, plus the large amount of walking you will probably do. I went home halfway through service and brought more shoes with me because some were already completely unusable at that point. I had a good mix, some sneakers, some sandals, a couple of flats and boots, and some heels. I hardly ever wore the heels because the terrain is so uneven that I would have ruined them or broken my ankle. I highly suggest investing in good, durable shoes that are comfortable. 

Bring spices!!!

Something I wish I brought more of is comfort food, or at least ingredients like spices. Asian condiments/spices are easier to find, mostly in the capital, but if you’re looking for Mexican spices or dried peppers, then you’ll likely be out of luck. However, if you travel to neighboring countries in the EU, you should be able to find a much larger selection.

Female volunteers

For female presenting volunteers: bras. If you wear anything larger than a C cup or have a large band size, then bring a few. I mostly live in sports bras or wireless bras, and it’s been fine. I did bring plenty of regular bras, but have only used them a handful of times, mainly for formal wear. However, I’m a 36DDD and have no idea where I would even find a bra that size here, so I’m glad I brought plenty. BRING PLENTY OF SOCKS!! My mom ended up shipping me some thermal socks for the winter. Thermal underwear is also a good idea.

9. How has learning the language been?

I learned Albanian, and frankly, it’s quite a hard language. Now that I’m at the end of my service, I was able to reach an intermediate high level, but that wasn’t without plenty of struggle. Even now, I still have trouble fully understanding what people say to me, particularly older folks who often have thick regional accents or speak in dialect. 

If you can, try to familiarize yourself a bit with some basics before coming to the country. That said, it may be a bit difficult since Albanian is such a niche language and there’s not much media or resources available compared to languages volunteers learn at other posts.

My biggest piece of advice is not to be too hard on yourself. When you start language training, you’re also juggling culture shock, diet adjustments, learning to live with a host family, homesickness, and sometimes even regular sickness. You’ve just left everything you know and are starting from scratch, so don’t beat yourself up if you can’t grasp the language right away. 

Final Thoughts

10. Any last comments or observations you’d like to pass on to future Albania volunteers?

I once saw a meme from a PCV that showed two identical pictures; the caption said, “A site before a PCV vs a site after a PCV”. I saw this early on in my service, so I was confused by what it meant. Now, at the end, I realize what it was saying. Your impact may not be monumental, and your site may be more or less the same after your service, but we’re not here to change the world or even our sites necessarily. Our biggest impact is in the connections we make with individuals, with that one lady you sat down with for coffee, or that group of kids you played soccer with. While you may not change the whole world, you can change one person’s world, and that’s worth more than you can imagine. 

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What are you waiting for? Opportunities like this don’t come often. If you have a passion for service and an adventurous spirit like Aimee’s, apply to the Peace Corps today. Expand your horizons, push your limits, and create positive impact as a volunteer. You never know how serving as a Peace Corps volunteer could change your life.

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The content of this post does not necessarily reflect the views of the U.S. Government, the Peace Corps, or Albania Government.