An American in Moldova: a Peace Corps volunteer is the subject of a new comedy series

Honking at a herd of cows crossing the road. Wincing at the acrid taste of pickled watermelon. Living in rural Moldova can be an experience of firsts for some foreigners, which is why a former Peace Corps volunteer returned to the country after 20 years to shoot a tongue-in-cheek web series on the highs and lows of country living.

Lost in Moldova, written by scriptwriter John Lewis and produced by an American-Moldovan team of filmmakers, navigates the cultural divides between both nations with lighthearted humour.

“The series is about a guy getting over this idea that Americans are the centre of the universe,” Lewis told The Calvert Journal. “A lot of Americans are clueless about the rest of the world – that’s similar for many people from different countries. But people are people. They’ve got similar problems and similar things you can laugh about.”

Following Diego, a young man joining the Peace Corps to impress his ex-girlfriend, the eight-episode series watches as he arrives in a village in Eastern Europe, instead of receiving the tropical, beach-side posting he’d been planning on.

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“I’m hoping that Moldovans will see themselves mirrored in this series, understanding the uniqueness and the great potential of our culture,” the film producer Lucia Lupu says.

The production team launched a crowdfunding campaign this week and plan to shoot their next episodes in November.