So Tumblr has started to annoy me… enough to where I’ve jumped ship.
New blog address is http://pc-mattbrady.blogspot.com/
Tumblr is great for quick posts and links but for actually writing, commenting, and posting things for the long haul, it’s not the site for me. I probably should have known Google’s version is far superior (ashamed I didn’t know actually). Apologies for the inconveniences of making you delete and add one bookmark, but deal with it.
You can also follow it if you have a gmail account as well as RSS it if you so choose.
PS the new site looks WAY COOLER!
Staging and International Flight Itinerary
First off… it’s raining. And what do Southern Californians do when it rains?
- Think the world is ending
- Drive poorly
- Stay indoors
- Watch movies
- Eat grilled cheese and tomato basil soup
I personally choose options three, four (Jurassic Park), and five while adding at sixth, making international flight maps using Google & Pixelmator and filling out more Peace Corps forms - I’m just that cool on a Friday night.
Anyways, so today I finally received information regarding my staging / orientation event as well as made reservations for my flights to both DC and Ukraine (Peace Corps actually did the Ukraine one for me - all expenses paid for by your tax dollars)!
20 March 2011
- Morning flight from San Diego -> Chicago -> Washington DC
21 March 2011
- Greetings / introductions and orientation presentations
22 March 2011
- Sight seeing in the morning (never been to DC!)
- Early afternoon flight from Washington DC -> Frankfurt -> Kyiv
23 March 2011
- Arrive in Ukraine!
- Begin Peace Corps Training
For specifics on my staging and travel plans visit - Peace Corps Travel Itinerary
I now find it comical now when people ask when my departure date is and I say, “at the end of March”, and they go, “that’s so soon!” because I’ve literally been waiting for that day for nine months - so, in actuality, that day couldn’t come sooner.
Using the power of GMail and my ability to never delete any emails (which is sad because I think I’m up to 25% of my allowed 7.5 gigs of storage), I’ve been able to reconstruct a time-line of events that led up to my acceptance into the Peace Corps.
The way the application process works is once you apply and nominated for a assignment you are granted access to your Toolkit (which is basically your own little home page on the Peace Corps website). It features a serious of checkpoints that chronologize the application process.
The majority of the updates to these checkpoints on your toolkit comes in the form of short emails letting you know that…
“Peace Corps has updated your Application Status account. Log in to http://www.peacecorps.gov/mytoolkit to see the latest information.”
AKA giving you zero useful information except for anxiety that the update is hopefully good news and not bad. Over time, you eventually will get through all the checkpoints and, in theory, it will all be worth it for an experience of a lifetime!
Anyways, enough rambling, and run-on sentences:
24 May 2010 Submitted my Peace Corps application
18 June 2010 Interview with Peace Corps recruiter
19 June 2010 Nominated for service in Eastern Europe
28 June 2010 Medical screen kit arrived
14 Aug 2010 Mailed completed medical kit
25 Aug 2010 Dentally cleared
17 Nov 2010 Medically cleared
10 Jan 2011 Received invitation and invitation packet
11 Jan 2011 Accepted my invitation
19 Jan 2011 Submitted aspiration statement & resume
18 Feb 2011 Received staging packet
20 March 2011 Flight to DC
22 March 2011 Flight to Ukraine
For anyone reading this with interest in applying, know this - it takes a long time and a ton of patience… and shots (shots as in needles, not the fun kind).
I realize I’m blogging out of order (this probably should have been the first post), but I guess I’m just thinking outside the box… or just making excuses.
Where does one begin when asked who they are?
I guess we’ll start with my name… which is Matt. I’m a San Diegian born and raised and grew up in the sunny / beach community suburb of Carlsbad, just 30 minutes outside of downtown SD. I’m the middle of two siblings, Dennis and Andrew, and definitely fall into the middle child personality.
I’m as much of a mut nationality wise as they come but hey, my immune sytem is better for it - I have a degree to prove it. I consider myself a pretty laid back, good kid who enjoys living life with as little conflicts and with as much laughter as possible.
I will also be upfront that I’m prone to grammatical and spelling errors, so decipher to the best of your ability.
Being a resident of Southern California, I’ve been conditioned to enjoy all outdoor activities pertaining to the beach and of course Mexican food - body surfing, beach volleyball, California burritos… so the prospects of potentially living in a land locked community is a foreign concept (and a bit terrifying), but I’m excited to trade it up for snow!
I’m a big fan of all things music and concerts as well as photography, media production, cooking, hiking, and of course traveling.
I attended college at the California Polytechnic State University in literally the happiest place in America (even Oprah agrees), San Luis Obispo, and graduated in the Spring of 2010 with a degree in Biological Sciences with a concentration in Molecular and Cellular Biology.
Yeah, I realize that degree doesn’t scream Peace Corps volunteer to most but I say meet me before you judge - science can definitely be cool (LINK to cool sciency thing)!
In school I was fortunate enough to be envolved with a few great organizations that really shaped who I am and my drive to work in youth leadership / community development.
Cue photos…
Week of Welcome - freshmen / transfer orientation program
Cal Poly Democrats
Carrotmob - business sustainability
Flash forward nine months post graduation and you’ll find me volunteering as a Youth Development volunteer in Ukraine, and couldn’t be more excited!
Ukraine seems like a place of great historic significance with interesting people, culture, and food and I can’t wait to learn, eat, speak, and soak up all it has to offer.
In theory this blog will be my main hub of documenting my Peace Corps experience / travels and hopefully internet accessibility will oblige with my request.
Happy creeping.
What the hell, one more of some good friends from home!
The mass of stuff I’m bringing (in theory) is slowly invading my room.
UPDATE:
Just realized there is a blue vuvuzela in the corner of the picture, that is just normally there, though now I’m pondering on whether to bring it, Euro 2012?!
Volunteer website revamp!
I was super excited to find out the website has been overhauled and updated. Began reading through everything at work last night and it cleared up a bunch of questions.
If y’all have any questions about what I’ll be doing at what point, it’s a great resource.
So I know all of you are anxiously wondering “How will I send Matt letters, awesome care packages, and boxes and boxes of Kit Kats?!”, well stop hyperventilating into a brown paper bag because your answer has arrived. Between April to June, I will be doing Pre-Service Training in a town near Kyiv, so all mail should be addressed to the following:
U.S. Peace Crops/Ukraine
PCV Matthew Brady
P.O. Box 298
01030
Kyiv, Ukraine
Or if they require an address, use the following:
U.S. Peace Corps/Ukraine
PCV Matthew Brady
111A Saksahanskoho Street
01032
Kyiv, Ukraine
Also, just an FYI, this statement was given by Peace Corps regarding sending mail:
“Family and friends should not send you valuable items through the mail, as mail sometimes arrives opened, with items missing, or does not arrive at all.”
They also state that padded envelopes are recommended over boxes, so maybe save all the jewels and diamonds you were planning on sending me for when I visit the states. Furthermore, you should write “Air Mail” on the envelope, or else the package will be sent slower. Some further information regarding pricing and what not from UPS can be found HERE.
WARNING: it can take up to two weeks for me to receive the package so don’t be alarmed if you don’t hear back for a bit.
After I find out where my permanent site location is and an address, I’ll be sure to post that as well.
… and I was being serious about the Kit Kats, just saying.
UPDATE:
Message from the US Embassy in Kyiv regarding mail during Pre-Service Training:
“US Embassy in Kyiv will only accept letters and flat envelopes. Packages will be refused and returned to the sender.”
Guess you’ll have to wait to send me good things until I reach my assignment location.
