Interview with Jonathan Braddick, May 27, 2023

Interview Summary

Jonathan Braddick, Peace Corps Volunteer, Business Development, Kryvyy Rih, Ukraine (2001-2002) Jonathan joined Peace Corps just after having received his college degree in Marketing and Management. He recalls landing in Kyiv and how different the terrain, the language and the people seemed at first and how he connected with his family of five who hosted him in Cherkasy during his three month training. Once he got to site, however, he did not feel “useful” at the institute where he was assigned to teach. Except for working with other volunteers at a summer camp, he found himself with an unenthusiastic counterpart, no classes to teach and feeling disconnected from home when learning about the 9/11 attacks in Russian on CNN. He wonders if he would not have departed early had he been older and with more work experience and also if he undervalued the impacts he still may have had in his community. In spite of his decision to leave early, his experience still impacted his post-Peace Corps life. Today, Jonathan works in a nonprofit which addresses transportation barriers for underserved populations in Texas. He continues to stay in touch with his Ukrainian friends who met and married through him, and even thinks about returning again as a Peace Corps volunteer.

Interview Keyword

Peace Corps Ukraine Peace Corps volunteer Plano, Texas Sam Houston State University Huntsville, Texas Texas A&M cassette tapes Ukrainian language Russian language Kryvyy Rih Krivoy Rog Soviet Peace Corps training Peace Corps language training site visit host family early departure Kryvyy Rih Economic Institute marshrutkas route taxis counterpart hotel cafes laptop computer September 11 9/11 CNN Russia cable tv internet English club dating mobile phones Ukrainian food palmeni tvorog farmers cheese pampushky borscht summer borscht green borscht stipend British English American English transportation bicycle advocacy bike lanes bike shares

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