Fellow Stories
True gap year stories from Fellows abroad!
Check out the latest blogs from Global Citizen Year Fellows in Brazil, Ecuador, and India!
Category
Class Year
Country
A Language Beyond Words
Elias Estabrook
2011-10-10
Legs churning. Bodies weaving. Ball zooming. Drums beating. Voices calling. Minds rushing. The match has begun. Like the soccer stadium, Senegal is alive with football. Without many words, the world of football has hurriedly welcomed me to a new playing field, a new environment. Similar to my general adaptation in Senegal, my first steps on...
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Immersion
Lily Goldberg
2011-10-10
“Communication has been cut off at the knees. Coherent sentences left hanging in confusion, and words reduced to indistinguishable sounds. I’ve found myself clinging with grateful desperation to the few French and Wolof words I know, and my knowledge is meager. It is one thing to be in a foreign country staying in a hostel...
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Life All Around
Lily Goldberg
2011-10-10
In all honestly life here in Dakar is not full of immersion. Initially it felt a little shocking, but that passed quickly. In my home, my host brother and his friends speak some English, so I get a language break now and then. And everyday all of us fellows are together for a good amount...
Read MoreAlways on my Toes, and on my Head.
Aubrey Haddard
2011-10-10
At my house, every week we wash the sheep. Coumbis and Hadi both laughed when I said I wanted to try but when they realized I was serious they told me to watch first. Hadi filled the bucket to the top, let me see how heavy it was, placed it on the top of her...
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I Want to Hold Your Hand
Russell Bollag-Miller
2011-10-08
I have a great seat. Arguably the best seat. The PowerPoint presentation is in perfect view. I have a fan angled in my direction. I have a nice chair. Arguably the nicest chair. I understand a little Wolof… Well, arguably no Wolof. So maybe a six-hour discussion (in Wolof) about variations in onion farming is...
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Navigating Sandaga Market
Charlotte Benishek
2011-10-07
I’ve been shopping downtown several times over the course of my stay in Dakar. Shopping in Senegal is a different experience from shopping in the US, and you need some specific skills to be successful. I’ve learned a lot about the Senegalese style of shopping in just a month. Here are some useful tips for a toubab shopping...
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The Easiest Language in the World
Kaya Hartley
2011-10-06
I’ve been postponing blogging because it seems that every day I gain something new, and my understanding of Senegalese life changes and grows. I have officially been living in Senegal for over a month now, and the most apparent observation so far is the overall relaxed, friendly, open attitude of the Senegalese people. The greetings...
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The Sounds of Senegal
Aubrey Haddard
2011-10-06
My experience (and my favorite parts of my experience) thus far can be summed up simply in the sounds of Senegal. -The mosquito buzzing in my ear after I’ve spent at least 5 minutes wrestling with my mosquito net and am now desperate to fall asleep. -The pound of my Deub hitting the onions, peppers...
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Dessine moi un cheval!
Natalie Davidson
2011-10-05
My mom handed me a bologna sandwich for dinner tonight. I studied it for a few minutes and started to laugh – an honest to goodness, full-blown, something-must-be-really-funny laugh. I don’t know exactly why I started laughing, but I know it felt great and luckily for me my only witness was Issa, my five year...
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Awa is…
Megan White
2011-10-05
It’s easy to feel competent. Easy, that is, until you find yourself spending the week in a Senegalese village with only a basic knowledge of Wolof and no Western toilet! During my first week of village life, my name became Awa, after the first of my father’s two wives, and my journal became my new best...
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Mangi Fi Rekk – I’m here
Lukas Brenard
2011-10-04
Hey everyone, Asalam malekum, I probably didn’t spell it right but it means, “peace be upon you and upon you be peace”. There are a lot of pains made here to ensure ones individual peace and many questions in Wolof are answered smilingly with the phrase “Jamm Rekk” – peace only. I have never felt...
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Japonezinho
Winson Law
2011-10-04
Back in the United States, people sometimes ask me, “what type of Asian are you?” This sort of question makes me believe that I am some sort of species, ready to be examined for my assumed virtuoso violin skills, mathematical prowess, and whether or not I eat with chopsticks every night. I tell people that...
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