In this interview, we hear from Ella Nebeker. Ella is a Peace Corps volunteer working as a Community Economic Development (CED) volunteer in Moldova. What Ella 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. Ella talks about living in a different country, working with local people, and dealing with surprise situations. Join us as we learn about Ella’s journey and see how volunteering with Peace Corps can change lives.
Volunteer Experience and Motivation
1. Tell us more about serving as an Community Development volunteer in Moldova.
Right now in Moldova, there are two cohorts of COD (Community and Organizational Development) volunteers split evenly between organizations such as the Mayor’s office, Casa de Cultură (community centers), NGOs, libraries, and youth centers or other youth groups. There is an emphasis in our program on working with youth, and supporting initiatives for youth leadership or civic engagement.
My primary partner is a Youth Center that is located within a Casa de Cultură. Working in a youth center lends itself to an unusual schedule since our activities are structured around the school schedule. In the morning, I either have an English club with women from my village, or I have a planning/ discussion meeting with my counterparts from the center.
We have our own office (thanks to a Peace Corps grant we implemented last year!) but we are lacking in any kind of kitchen/ bathroom facilities, so I go home for lunch. We normally start activities around 3 PM, and depending on how busy the schedule is, we may stay open until 8 PM.
We tend to have activities on Saturday, as well as other community events on Sunday, so Monday is usually my day off.
2. What motivated you to join the Peace Corps and choose Moldova?
The first time I ever heard about the Peace Corps was while I was doing an internship with an NGO in Washington DC. There were many aspects that really spoke to me. I wanted more international and language experience, and I’ve been involved in volunteering projects all throughout junior high and high school. I was graduating the next semester, and the Peace Corps seemed like a perfect fit for my interests and background.
When I applied, I specified that I wanted to work in the Economic Development sector, and would prefer placement in Eastern Europe/ Central Asia. At university, I majored in Economics with an emphasis in Analytics and had taken various classes about the region. I figured it would be a great opportunity to learn more about the places I had been introduced to.
On the day I turned in my application, my recruiter called me and told me that Moldova had been re-opened. All I knew about Moldova at the time was that it was a former Soviet Union country, and it was right next to Ukraine which made me nervous. Talking it over with my recruiter, it matched what I was looking for. I indicated my interest in Moldova, and the rest is history!
Living Arrangements and Cultural Integration
3. Tell us more about your home situation
I live with a host family in their home. I have a private bedroom, but all other spaces are shared. My host parents are in their late 40s/ early 50s and have two older children in their 20s. The younger sister is a few years younger than me and lives at home, and the older sister is a few years older and lives nearby.
Living between the Old and the New
My house situation is interesting because I live in a very very old village, dating back to the 14th century, that has become somewhat of a commuter hub for Chișinău, Moldova’s capital. There’s the old side of my village where everyone has lived in their family house for generations, wells are used for water, gates are ornate, bathrooms are outside, houses are heated by soba, and there’s a cross at every intersection. The new side of my village tends to have people who have moved here so they can commute to work, the houses are modern, and there are water lines.
Family Life with My Host Family
My host parents are not from my village (but they are from Moldova), and although they have lived here for 20+ years, they are still considered foreigners. Our house is a mix of new and traditional- we don’t use a well, our house is heated by soba, and we have both an indoor and outdoor bathroom. My host parents have a large garden and also raise chickens. On that same note, my host mom is a doctor so while we eat many traditional Moldovan foods, we usually eat vegetables for breakfast, which is unusual for Moldova.
Challenges of Running
I love my site. On the larger side, it still has many aspects of village life. The further you get from the main roads, the more goats and vineyards you see. While I have been able to exercise, it comes with its own challenges. Running along main roads has not been a great experience, I’ve had drivers yell at me, honk, or one taxi who even circled back to follow me. I switched to running on dirt roads between farms. While better, it’s impossible to access these roads after rain since the mud is so bad, and there tend to be a lot of stray dogs. They normally don’t bother me, but I have been bitten once before. Usually, there are old ladies who walk along the same path, and they’ll chase them away from me with a corn stalk.
4. Any memorable experiences or interactions you’ve had?
Mud, Mud, and More Mud
Far too many to count. For some context, while many areas of Moldova have roads, there are still many villages that only have one main road that is paved. That means the dirt road to my work turns to mud each time it rains or snows, which happens frequently in the fall through spring. On the first day, I arrived at my site, the mud had already begun. I would come home and would be so covered in it, that my host parents began a running joke about how much the American loved mud. Presentation is important, and there is a huge emphasis on having clean shoes. That meant sitting outside with my host dad every night washing my boots off.
There was one day I was walking to work that was particularly bad for whatever reason. The Vice Mayor of my village, who I had met the week before, was driving past and spotted me struggling. He insisted on driving me the rest of the way. Once we got to my work (right next to the mayor’s office) he said he wanted to walk me inside so he could speak to my counterparts. As we walked upstairs to our office, we realized at the same time the damage was much worse than I thought- the mud was up the back of my legs, past my knees. I was mortified- the Vice Mayor was trying to help me get it off while I was trying to run up the stairs to hide in our office forever and never come out. I don’t think my counterparts will ever forget me walking into the room, while they tried to hide their laughter.
Sunday Dinners during PST
Another memorable experience would be during PST, in our group of 7, our host families would take turns hosting us for dinner each Sunday. At one of these dinners, the host mom who was a music teacher had invited her music group over to surprise us. They popped into the dining room and sang and danced when my friend’s host dad pulled me from the table and began to lead us in a very elaborate and long dance in front of everyone. Later at swearing-in, this same host dad would call me his daughter-in-law in front of everyone, while on stage.
Other incidents include being asked to do a poetry recital for Romanian Language Day, befriending a goat herder on my running route, harvesting strawberries with my host mom to make compot, going to a church opening and drinking with the priests afterward, and learning how to make house wine.
Surprises and Challenges
5. What has surprised you most about challenges in Moldova?
One thing that really surprised me when I arrived at my site was pushback due to my age. When I left for the Peace Corps, I didn’t have any concerns about my age hindering my service. I met with the director of the local elementary school/ junior high about possibly collaborating with her during my service. She asked how old I was (22) and then told me that her own daughter was a whole year older than me, and she didn’t understand what someone as young as me would have to contribute.
In general, I would say Moldovans are much more comfortable making comments about people’s physical appearance, especially for women. During PST, most of the female volunteers commiserated about our host families commenting on our weight. Certain volunteers were told that they were starving themselves and needed to eat more while others were told to lose weight and that they needed to exercise more. There are a lot of perceptions about “proper eating habits” in Moldova that differ from the United States. When I would turn down food I didn’t want to eat during meals, my host parents would ask if I was dieting. While I knew there would be challenges with eating different kinds of meals, I didn’t realize how integral eating is as an activity.
6. What challenges did you face while working on Community Development projects?
One challenge I frequently run into is differing expectations within my community. This came up a lot during the grant writing process. My counterparts already had an idea of what they wanted to do and were somewhat resistant to the Peace Corps process of community-led initiatives. It was frustrating for them that I wanted to spend so much time using PACA tools to ensure that there was a legitimate need before starting the project.
I’ve run into this countless times with various community members- the leader/ creator of a project has a vision for exactly how it should turn out, and it can be difficult to introduce new ideas or ways of implementing activities. I don’t think this is unique to Moldova or COD, but it is always hard to try and convince people to change the way they’ve always done something.
Another challenge I faced while working on projects was push back due to local politics. While my village has generally been supportive of the Peace Corps, there have certainly been people who aren’t thrilled at an American being involved in local activities and are untrustworthy of what I’m trying to achieve by being here. This has led to a slow down on projects when it’s been difficult to garner support from local authorities who are wary of the implication of working together with an American.
7. Could you share some of the secondary projects you have been involved?
With my youth center, one of our secondary projects is visiting the local schools to do personal development sessions, on topics such as mental health and bullying. Last fall, we took part in a social theater project about domestic violence.
My most active secondary project is a local women’s initiative group that I’m a part of within my village. It first started as a group for civic engagement, which would meet to discuss changes they hoped to realize within the village through working with the mayor’s office. It evolved to become a space for women to socialize, be connected to the village, and organize community events. They’ve begun a variety of projects, such as a fundraiser for socially vulnerable families, and development training. I am currently working with this group on a variety of different projects – English clubs, public speaking, and entrepreneurship for women. I also work with the library and other groups in the culture house, to collaborate on larger events and trainings.
Due to my proximity to Chișinău, I’ve been lucky to be able to take part in presentations there as well, with America House Chișinău and the central youth center.
Advice and Support
8. What advice would you give to someone considering serving as an Community Development volunteer in Moldova?
I think the most important thing to consider for any volunteer is what you hope to gain from your service. Peace Corps is what you make of it. Due to the nature of COD, it tends to be much more flexible. There are periods when work is very slow, and it feels as if there’s nothing to be done. If you want to be busy, it is likely you will need to go out of your way to find projects.
During PST (Pre-Service Training), an RPCV (returned PCV) spoke at one of our panels. He said that you should go into service expecting each project in your first six months to fail. He said he was told once he got to site, “plans are for foreigners and fools.” Managing your expectations is very important, as is remembering the purpose of the Peace Corps. A huge part of service should be forming relationships and learning about your community. Maybe people are resistant to change/ new ideas not because they want to impair your service, but because you’re missing a vital piece of information. Keep an open mind, and try to learn as much as possible from each person you meet.
9. How has the Peace Corps training helped you during your service?
As I said above about service, it is up to you to make the most out of training! One thing I liked about each of our conferences was hearing from people who were RPCVs describing their own service, and reflecting on what had worked for them. It always helps to listen to someone who has been through the same thing. Conferences are also a great way to interact with staff and volunteers you may not always be able to see and learn from them. I’ve been given great ideas for clubs and projects from talking with other volunteers, and learning what’s been successful for them.
The training with counterparts is a fantastic way to facilitate conversations that may be difficult to have at site. For me, I have amazing counterparts who are very busy, and it can be hard to have a focused conversation about one singular project without getting sidetracked. I’ve found that the conferences we’ve had together have helped us to have structured time to plan that we wouldn’t have otherwise.
Practical Tips and Language Learning
10. Anything that you packed or didn’t pack that you’d like to tell future Moldova volunteers?
I’m overall pretty happy with how I packed. I followed packing advice from other volunteers, mainly to bring business casual clothes that you can mix and match, and bring a variety of clothing for different events. In particular, I’m glad I packed sandals for wearing outside in the garden (or walking to the outhouse), more casual clothes to wear at home, name-brand cosmetics that I knew I wouldn’t find good replacements for (face wash) and different-sized bags. I brought a backpack for shorter trips that I often use for conferences, along with a nicer purse for my laptop at work events. If there is anything that would make the adjustment to living in a new place easier, bring it. I brought my pillow from home, and it’s one of the best decisions I made.
Don’t bring water filters, yak traks, notebooks, or tote bags. Peace Corps provides a massive medical kit upon arrival with a water filter, smoke detector, medical kit, etc. At each conference so far, I have received a new tote bag, notebook, and pens. I have an entire stack of unused notebooks.
I didn’t bring brown sugar, spices, or other things I would need for baking and deeply regretted it. I ended up asking my stepmom to send me brown sugar, vanilla extract, pie tins, matcha, and chocolate chips. There are no close replacements for brown sugar or good vanilla in Moldova, so if you enjoy baking, plan on bringing your own supplies!
11. How has learning the language been?
I learned Romanian, which is the national language of Moldova and the most commonly spoken language. Most Moldovans also speak Russian, but 95% of trainees will learn Romanian. The advantage to learning Romanian is that it’s a romance language, and therefore has a lot of structural similarities. Having learned Spanish in high school certainly helped to pick it up, a sentiment that has been expressed by other volunteers who have a Romance language background. I don’t think it’s necessary to study Romanian before staging- I started learning it about three months before, and I ended up being on the same page as everyone else by the first month of language training.
Immersion is the most important aspect of picking up Romanian. Living in a host family without English speakers, and working with counterparts who don’t speak much English certainly lends itself to language acquisition, as was the case in my situation. I also recommend working with a local tutor, as they are also a great source of information about events going on in your community.
I think the thing that helped me most in learning Romanian was speaking with my host family and counterparts every single day. Luckily, they were very encouraging of this- even when it took me several painful minutes to spit out a single sentence when someone would step in and try and translate for me, my host parents and counterparts would insist that I do it myself. This led to long nightly conversations with my host parents where they would ask me to tell them about my day, and then interrupt me every 15 seconds to correct my grammar and pronunciation until I said the sentence correctly.
Serving as a Woman
12. Challenges and Triumphs
It is worth noting that gender roles are rigid in Moldova. Interestingly, due to the number of men who work abroad, many women are employed, in industries and positions that are ordinarily more male-dominant. In my village, our mayor is a woman, as are all the directors of the community organizations. The museum, library, culture house, youth center, and schools all have female leaders.
Despite this, gender roles and division of labor are as present as ever. Women are expected to do all the cooking, cleaning, and childcare on top of having full-time work positions. Our LTI (Language Training Instructor) during PST told us that people would gasp when she told them her husband also cooked and cleaned. I raised quite a few eyebrows for running by myself in the morning during PST, it wasn’t seen as a safe activity for a woman to participate in by herself.
A fellow volunteer got into a heated argument with a host parent when she expressed that she wasn’t interested in having children at all. This can be difficult to navigate, as people are comfortable asking why young women aren’t married, when they plan on having kids, etc. It’s a challenge that should be taken into consideration when deciding to join the Peace Corps. As a volunteer, essentially all aspects of your identity will be scrutinized.
Impact of Media and Final Thoughts
13. How do you think your blog contributes to your overall mission as a Peace Corps volunteer?
Starting my blog right at the start of my service was one of the best decisions I made. It has helped me to reflect at the end of each month and think about all the things I’ve done, and what I’m hoping to achieve in the future. I had a friend jokingly ask whether the blog was truly for other people, or if I just used it as an outlet to work out my feelings. Why not both? It’s a great way to loop in friends and family back at home about what I’m up to and share what I’m learning. In the process, I remember things I might’ve forgotten about otherwise if I wasn’t compiling my activities for the blog.
Ella in Eastern Europe
This publication/ blog/ whatever-you-want-to-call-it is a way for me to share the experiences I’m having throughout my two year service. https://pcvella.substack.com
14. Any last comments or observations you’d like to pass on to future Moldova volunteers?
- Moldova is amazing. I’ve had a fantastic experience living and working with the wonderful people who live here, and if I got to choose right now, I would do it all over again.
- Hobbies are important. There will be hardships and challenges in your service. It is important to come into service knowing techniques that will help you when hard times come because they will come! How will you deal with them?
- Find ways to stay in touch with your network back at home, while creating a new one in the country.
- A lot of people talk about what the impact of their service will be. I think it’s important to consider that as volunteers, we’re meant to involve ourselves in community-led initiatives. Sometimes that means you’re not the center of the project, and that’s a good thing! That means you’ve done your job, even if your “impact” is not as clear at the moment.
What are you waiting for? Opportunities like this don’t come often. If you have a passion for service and an adventurous spirit like Ella’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.
The content of this post does not necessarily reflect the views of the U.S. Government, the Peace Corps, or Moldova Government.
