In this interview, you’ll hear from Enrique Orosco, a Peace Corps Community Economic Development (CED) volunteer in North Macedonia. Enrique shares what daily life looks like, the work being done, and how service has shaped their personal and professional growth. You’ll learn about housing, cultural differences, project work, language learning, and what it’s like to live and work in a new country. This interview offers a real look into Peace Corps service and what future volunteers can expect.
Table of Contents
- Volunteer Experience and Motivation
- Living Arrangements and Cultural Integration
- Surprises and Challenges
- Practical Tips and Language Learning
- Social Identity
- Final Thoughts
Volunteer Experience and Motivation
1. What do you do as a Peace Corps CED volunteer in North Macedonia?
As a Community Development volunteer, I am partnered with a local organization and work with them to improve their organizational and management skills. I was placed at a rural organization that was one of the leading organizers in the campaign to declare the nearby Shar Mountains a National Park. Currently, they are one of the biggest organizations in the region, working to sustainably develop the 27 villages within the National Park boundaries.
I led a few projects to promote sustainable agriculture and natural tourism as a strategy to strengthen the local economy. In 2026, we helped to establish the first food market owned by a shepherding agricultural cooperative. My favorite program is our involvement in the European Green Belt, an initiative to protect and unite the natural spaces created de facto by the Iron Curtain during the Cold War.
2. Why did you decide to join the Peace Corps and serve in North Macedonia?
In high school, we had an RPCV visit our class. We were learning about different cultures of the world, and I remember feeling so impressed by the idea of going to live abroad in a different country with a different language, religion, music, and food. That experience stuck with me. After college, I didn’t feel ready yet for the Peace Corps, so I joined AmeriCorps in my hometown. That helped to fuel a desire to try to lead a life of service.
Before joining the Peace Corps, I was working in under-resourced areas in urban and rural communities, including time spent deep in the Bolivian Amazon. I was beginning to develop a deep interest in how we can balance both environmental conservation and improving the lives of people. Around that time, I had a gap in between jobs, and I began to think back to the Peace Corps as an opportunity. Ultimately, I applied because I couldn’t think of any better path that would allow me to work closely with a community, learn from them, and contribute to their projects.
Living Arrangements and Cultural Integration
3. What is your housing like in North Macedonia?
I was one of the few Community Development volunteers at a village site, so for the first year, I had a room with a host family. I was lucky that my host sister was vegan, so I shared all of my meals with my host family. The village was a fairly large one: we had a few village restaurants and cafes. Even a pharmacy! While we did have one convenience store, the closest grocery store was too far to go on foot, so I relied on doing groceries with my host family.
In my second year, I was able to find an abandoned house that was in decent condition. It was about a 20-minute walk from my work site. It was also much closer to the supermarket.
In my third year extension, I transferred to the city, and I had an apartment. It was honestly the nicest apartment I’ve ever had, much nicer than anything from when I lived in Chicago. I had never had a dishwasher before.
4. What moments or interactions stand out during your service?
Last year (2025), I organized an American-style summer camp. Each day we had different activities, from building water bottle rockets to yoga and mindfulness exercises. We also played ultimate frisbee and flag football. For most of the kids, it was their first time doing any of these kinds of activities. We had so many more participants than we expected because each day, kids would tell more of their friends or cousins to come along on subsequent days.
I organized the camp with some other volunteers, but almost all of the workshops were led by members of the community. For me, that was much more important because I knew some of the activities would be more meaningful coming from a peer or a leader in the community that they could look up to. Overall, it was a huge success. As early as January, kids were asking if we’d hold a camp this year!
Surprises and Challenges
5. What has surprised you most about living or working in North Macedonia?
My counterpart likes to say that our community is like a mini Macedonia. It has all of the ethnicities found in Macedonia living in a small area. That diversity makes it a really beautiful place to live because there are always different cultural events happening in town. I feel like I get the best of everything. I get to enjoy the Turkish restaurants, the Albanian parties, and the Macedonian kafanas. Each culture is distinct in its own way, and I love getting to learn the different music and dances when I’m out with friends.
6. What challenges have you faced in your CED work, and how did you respond?
One of my biggest challenges was adapting to the local workplace culture. As someone who transitioned to the Peace Corps in the middle of my career, I already had certain expectations and biases, and I faced some friction during my first few weeks in my organization. For example, the relationship dynamics between workers and their bosses are totally distinct from those in the US, and hierarchical structures play a greater role in North Macedonia. There is also a baseline level of corruption across all Macedonian systems, and it is frustrating to face that.
Additionally, young people are notably pessimistic about the future of their country, and this has created a huge hurdle to working with youth and recruiting and maintaining volunteers. During my service, a few of my best volunteers and closest friends left the country or started their transitions out. This was a bit demoralizing at work and in my personal life because it felt like my closest connections were gone.
Ultimately, I recommended investing more in relationships and processes than in strict outcomes. I tried to prioritize doing my tasks in a way that my counterparts and colleagues could recreate them on their own. And I focused my energy on getting to know my counterparts and youth volunteers, and completing project tasks came afterwards.
One year is just a visit. Two years is what turns a place into a home.
Practical Tips and Language Learning
7. What would you tell future volunteers to pack—or leave behind?
Our Facebook page has a pretty extensive list of recommendations for future volunteers. Macedonia is a modern country, and you can find virtually almost any household good in Skopje or in a local mall – yes, even measuring cups. But there are a few caveats. Electronics tend to be more expensive here than in the US. If you need to replace your phone or laptop or get a Kindle, I recommend getting that before you leave. In the US, you can find frequent sales and discounts, but those don’t exist here, so you’ll pay $200-300 for products that could be several years old.
Macedonia is one of the most mountainous countries in the world, so a good pair of hiking boots is one of the essentials. Even if you don’t hike now, you are more than likely to become a hiker during your time here! I brought a lot of my hiking clothes, and I was especially grateful during the cold, damp winters to have a lightweight down jacket.
8. How has language learning been for you in North Macedonia?
Peace Corps North Macedonia currently offers three language tracks, according to the language needs of its communities. There is a Macedonian language track, an Albanian language track, and a dual-language track. I was sorted into the dual language track, which has the goal of training volunteers in both languages.
The Albanian and dual-language tracks are reserved for volunteers who will be placed in the western part of Macedonia, where there is a greater number of Albanians. After PST ends and volunteers arrive at their sites, they can also decide if they want to continue studying one or two of the major languages.
Learning two languages was difficult, and it was impossible not to mix up languages during our initial training period. I’m grateful that I learned both languages because it made a huge impact on my integration. My host family was Macedonian, and I used my language skills to become part of the family and share with the local cultures. However, my organization’s key recipients were largely Albanian, and I needed a basic understanding to be able to conduct my work.
I pushed myself to study both languages because I needed them for my situation, but it depends on each volunteer. At the end of the day, language is a tool for integration, and it’s up to the volunteer to decide how they want to use it.
Social Identity
9. What advice do you have for volunteers who share your identity?
North Macedonia is unfortunately fairly closed off to the world. There is little to no exposure to people of non-Balkan ethnicities, and that results in poor awareness of harmful actions and normalization of some racist behaviors. I don’t believe it comes from a malicious place, but it still is hurtful to non-white volunteers.
I think keeping that in mind can help to ease some of the instances, as well as talking with other volunteers to vent about your experiences.
Final Thoughts
10. What final advice would you share with future volunteers?
There’s nothing else like it in the world. During my service and in other parts of my career, I’ve met international volunteers from different organizations. Not a single volunteering organization invests in its volunteers and connects with local communities the way that the Peace Corps does. The investment in learning the language, the culture, and adapting to your local community is unmatched. The dedication to stay somewhere for two years is immense, but it radically changes your perspective and approach to living in a community. One year is just a visit. Two years is what turns a place into a home. I feel like I have found my home in North Macedonia.
Are you thinking about joining the Peace Corps? If you’re curious about service and ready for something new, apply today. Like Enrique, you can live abroad, work with communities, and grow in ways you didn’t expect. Apply to the Peace Corps and take the next step.
The content of this post does not necessarily reflect the views of the U.S. Government, the Peace Corps, or North Macedonia Government
