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
Samé
Emily Soule
2013-05-08
This blog is supposed to address my personal experiences here in Ecuador as a young American abroad; however, for this particular entry I wish to share two poems written this year about two different locations in Ecuador – the town of Samé and the capital of the province of Sucumbios. I hope you enjoy! In...
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Home
Emily Hwang
2013-05-08
Today is April 6th, which means that in two weeks time, I will be home. And I wonder what will remain of all this when I’m in my own house with my own family, lying on my own bed at night, struggling to see the stars through the LA smog. In two weeks time, I’ll...
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The Nature of Poverty
Fikrte Abebe
2013-05-08
I co-wrote this blog with Tsion Horra, a fellow Fellow. We were recently exposed to the results of a study done by the UN in 1998. The results were published in a book titled “Voices of the Poor.” Through the reading we believe we have a deeper understanding of poverty. What we have come to...
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The Nature of Poverty
Tsion Horra
2013-05-08
I co-wrote this blog with Fikrte Abebe, a fellow Fellow. We were recently exposed to the results of a study done by the UN in 1998. The results were published in a book titled “Voices of the Poor.” Through the reading we believe we have a deeper understanding of poverty. What we have come to...
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Eight Months
Lauren Holt
2013-05-08
Eight months has now come down to eight days. It’s a point that at times I never thought I would get to, a time that I never thought would come. When you have eight months ahead of you, it’s easy to say “oh yeah, I have time to visit this place” or “there’s so much...
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What Dakar Told Me
Allie Wallace
2013-05-08
When my fellow Senegal Fellows and I arrived in Dakar back in September, I found the place less than hospitable. At the tail end of rainy season, its streets turned to sewage rivers at the slightest shower. Entire neighborhoods’ roads and crumbling sidewalks were inches deep in sand and garbage. Speaking no French or Wolof,...
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The Crazy Things People Do for Money
Ariel Vardy
2013-05-02
Climbing up to a far and thin branch in a big tree, holding tight, they shift their weight to reach their hands into a hole in the tree, surrounded by hundreds of bees, trying to get honey. Grabbing a big gun, a small sack of water, and walking into the forest for the night. They will be walking through the...
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8 Tips for Ecuador Vegetarians
Sarah McMillan
2013-05-02
I know many of those who apply to GCY are vegetarians. Unfortunately, living abroad can make eating vegetarian difficult. But the good thing about living in Ecuador is that being a vegetarian here is totally possible. It’s harder than in the States, yeah. You might have to watch what you eat more carefully, but it’s...
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Jessi
Jackie Brown
2013-05-02
So I’m back in the states at re-entry training! I’m sharing a video with you all that I made a long time ago of my host sister. Being away from her for almost a week now, I miss her dearly and am often thinking of her. So I just wanted to share how amazing she...
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Africa Seen in the Eyes of Americans Through Disney Movies
Jay Choi
2013-05-02
One day, I was searching for a Disney channel on Pandora, an internet radio that enables listeners to tailor their repertoire of music to personal taste. I plugged my iPod on to a speaker, and let Elton John and Peabo Bryson carry me into a pensive trance of childhood. Like most anyone, I love anything...
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African Common Sense
Jay Choi
2013-05-02
Today’s foreign aid in Africa seems to be predicated upon the unconscious belief that the African people are uncivilized and somehow lack common sense – for example, that they don’t know how to properly utilize mosquito nets even though they live in malaria hot spots of the world. Foreign aid workers in their edgy offices...
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Debunking the Stereotypes
Cheyenne Tessier
2013-05-02
Recently, I’ve been getting countless Facebook messages and e-mails, “So, what is Africa like?” “Are you helping a lot?” “Do you confront the issue of AIDS on a daily basis?” “Have you seen any voodoo ceremony?” And so on. Even though I live in SENEGAL, and more specifically, THE DAKAR REGION, a very small portrait...
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