Posh Corps

So the Montenegro Peace Corps post has earned the moniker "Posh Corps" and I'm so there for it - figuratively AND literally.  It starts with the fact that the country is just so dang purty! The mountains, the coastline, the weather, the picaresque houses overlowing with bougainvellia, etc etc etc.

But wait, there's more! All Peace Corps trainees/volunteers here are issued a tablet - complete with mouse and keyboard and a SHIT TON of data (something like 40 gigs). We also all get fire extinguishers, water filters, and space heaters. We also get local sim cards with, again, tons of data and minutes and the country, in general, is pretty wired. Now, many other posts get some/all these things, too, so on the whole Peace Corps, in general, is way more "posh" than when I did my first go round back in the late 1900s.

But again, the beauty of the country, and the Mediterranean climate, give us a leg up for sure on the mud hut villages and other less posh places of PC yore.  I mean, check out these pics of the beach that is, literally, a 10-12 minute walk from my place. 

And speaking of my place, like all trainees, I DO have my own room, BUT it's actually more like a studio apartment, with it's own entrance, up on the second floor above my host family, and I have my own bathroom and kitchenette in addition to the bed, table & three chairs PLUS a bunk bed. And did I mention the TV with about 50 cable channels? Granted, those channels most all broadcast in Montenegrin or Serbian, but there's a couple of channels that will have the odd U.S. show and/or movie, in English, with Montenegrin subtitles. Here's a couple of shots of my host family's home - my place is on the second floor, with the white door on the left:

That second shot is the entry drive, overhung with grape vines - with grapes my host dad uses to make his own - amazing - wine. They also have a couple of mandarin orange trees, pepper plants, etc. In fact, most every house here has the requisite overhang with grapes or kiwi, and then mandarin orange trees, and/or olive trees and/or apple trees and/or various other fruits and vegetables. So yeah, talk about direct to table!

Now, we have been "warned" not to expect this kind of stuff once training is over and we ship off to our posts - esp. if we're posted further north, which most of us will be.  But this definitely makes the transition a bit easier. So I'll enjoy this while it lasts and hopefully reflect back on how lucky I was once I start whining down the road!  :)

Disclaimer: Any thoughts, observations, opinions, etc. are of course mine and not necessarily the views of Peace Corps.