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
When the Men Come Home…
Lily Goldberg
2012-05-02
In Senegal the family dynamic is simple, but rigid. The men work, the women keep the home and do the cooking, and the children go to school and help the adults. Of course per family their are variations of this setup. Some girls don’t really get much of a chance to go to school, while...
Read More
Home; here and there and everywhere
Lily Goldberg
2012-05-02
Something I’ve noticed, without fail, is that consistently throughout all places and peoples in Senegal there is a general, wonderful sense of hospitality, welcoming, and concern for others. They call this “Teranga,” a sense of friendliness, hospitality, and respect conveyed by the Senegalese to all people. It’s most apparent in the traditional long greetings given...
Read MoreGrassroots
Lucy Blumberg
2012-05-02
The path to Soudiane (SOO-jan) is like any other, winding through plains scattered with trees each a century old. If you’re coming upon Soudiane at night, the first thing you’ll see is the lights, shining like stars through windows and courtyards. These lights are nothing more than camping lanterns, each house armed with three or...
Read More
Ami/Emily
Emily Hanna
2012-05-02
What’s in a name? For me, at first, nothing. My Senegalese name was bestowed upon me by a random man who happened to be in the offices of my apprenticeship supervisor on my first day in Sebikotane. “What’s your name? Emily? Here you will be Aminata – Ami, for short. Ami, Emily…you see? They sound...
Read More
Singing to the Heavens
Elias Estabrook
2012-05-02
Rhythms run through the blood of the Senegalese. As much they depend on their daily dose of thiebudiene, rice and fish, or atayaa, sweet tea, seldom can you find them without music. Radios broadcasting ensembles of drums, some full and steady, others quick and pattering — the nation’s most popular genre, mbalakh — accompany my...
Read More
How We Care for Each Other
Elias Estabrook
2012-05-02
In mid-October, the second week in my village, I caught the flu. Fatigued and dehydrated, I arrived at the local clinic, accompanied by my host father. After laying down, I proceeded to doze off. Still, I remember precisely how every few minutes, the blurriness cleared to reveal the distinct faces of members of the village...
Read More
Des Choses Gratuites
Megan White
2012-05-02
On my first day in Senegal, I somehow lost 40,000 francs CFA. Welcome to Africa, kid. Since then, I’ve received plenty. Free love! And also, completely for free: -A leather/snakeskin pouch from a guy in the touristy artisanal market who tried to rip me off, but then softened when I told him I had no...
Read MoreLindsey and Molly Try a New Food
Lindsey Sepulveda
2012-04-27
It’s very common for people who visit Ecuador to try food that is less than usual in other countries, such as guinea pigs. A few months ago, another fellow, Molly Ryan Owen, tried churos, which are tiny snails that are boiled and eaten with onions, tomato, lime and other toppings. Churos are often sold as...
Read More
The Girl Who Doesn’t Know Anything
Henrietta Conrad
2012-04-26
On one hand I wanted to keep my dignity. I’m proud of education I’ve received and I feel like I’ve always taken advantages of opportunities to expand my mind. On the other hand, he was right, I was here in Brazil to learn and learning is a humbling experience especially when that learning is in the school of life.
Read More
God’s Children we are.
Albamarina Nahar
2012-04-26
Walking home after work I have always been noticing “tudos as crianças em na rua brincando”. But not with regular toys that one would buy at Toys R’Us back in the States. Most of the kids I see playing around create games out of bottle caps. They have so much fun flicking the bottle caps...
Read More
Meu avo, dexia li!
Albamarina Nahar
2012-04-26
My host grandmother is the sweetest person ever. She is like the grandma of my street. She will tell the kids on my street to take showers or to be careful jumping around. She will give at least $5 R to our visino (neighbor). She will make sure I have eaten more than twice. She cares...
Read More
Onibus, my own personal Amusement Park
Albamarina Nahar
2012-04-26
Everywhere I go, eu pego Onibus, (I take the bus). Now there is a difference of the bus in Boston and Bahia. You don’t enter from the front, you enter from the back here. I live in Piraja and take the Conjunction Piraja bus which is never empty. You have to literally fight to get...
Read More