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
Since August
Clarissa Bury
2014-12-12
The three months I have been in Ecuador have been full of adventures . In Quito I stayed with a sweet old lady and spent my days squishing myself onto the buses and developing my leg muscles tackling the hill between Spanish classes and Global Citizen Year lectures. I went to an Ecuadorian soccer game,...
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In Dependence
Elizabeth Schmidt
2014-12-12
The following is an excerpt from my college essay, finalized on October 30th: “When I arrived, I could barely speak, and I still cannot cook or tie my wrap-skirt without help. Nothing has been harder than loneliness and helplessness as I struggle to communicate in French or Wolof or when my mom’s friends laugh after...
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Learning How to Leave Effective Footprints
Camila Diaz
2014-12-12
As I walked out of the pet store, I had the biggest smile on my face. For one, I felt like Santa Claus. But most importantly, I was taking full advantage of my freedom and doing something my mother wouldn’t have ever allowed. How hadn’t I thought of this the second I got here? Back...
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Cañar
Irie Ewers
2014-12-12
“We are one with our environment. The boundary between our bodies and our environments is not just permeable, but a blur of movement as components from Earth, Air, Water and Fire cycle through us. We partake of, and contribute to, the hydrological cycle, atmospheric circulation, the nutrient cycle and the mineral cycle. We embody, and...
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This Exists Too
Alice Brower
2014-12-10
When CNN ran the headline “Muslims: We’re not all extremists” I was incredulous. “How is that news?!” I said to my friend Rachel who’s furrowed brow and crinkled nose betrayed the same confusion I felt. She replied “that’s like a headline saying Cats: We’re not all female.” When I try to carry in water for...
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Life Goes On
Elizabeth O'Malley
2014-12-09
Recently a family member back in the US passed away. It wasn’t someone I was close with, or had even seen in years. He was old and sick; for some reason this death affected me more than I would have expected. I got the news over a Facebook message. It didn’t hit me right away....
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Powdered Milk & Apple Spice Incense
Ava Rofougaran
2014-12-09
At home, it’s common to encounter little inconveniences like running out of milk or an early wake up call on Saturday morning to the voice of NPR’s Scott Simon. It is not common, however, to lose your temper and chuck the empty milk carton at the refrigerator; to storm downstairs in a state of utter...
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For my Daddy Jim…
Bailey Bullock
2014-12-09
A few days ago, I lost one of the most special people in my life; my grandfather, my Daddy Jim. I have always been told of the sorrow one feels when they lose one that is so dear to them, and until December 6th, I had been fortunate enough to not have had to experience...
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Washing the Day Away
Kyra Halpenny
2014-12-09
Here in Ndande, showers are a fickle thing. For starters if you want to have an ‘actual’ shower with water pressure you must to wake up between 5:30 and 6:45 in the morning. After 6:55 almost everyone in Ndande is using their faucets and spigots – if not for filling the large water barrels –...
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Functionality
Kyra Halpenny
2014-12-09
Dakar, Senegal – September 29, 2014 Something another Fellow said during In-Country Orientation has stuck with me. It was while we were riding snugly fit in a taxi, driving down the multi-lane highway that runs along the beaches of Dakar into downtown. We passed another taxi – not an uncommon thing, however, it looked incredibly...
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The Watermelon Complex
Kyra Halpenny
2014-12-09
Ndande, Senegal – October 20, 2014 A note to all those who love watermelon: Fruit here is a luxury, so when it is available it is cheap in the beginning, but as the season comes to an end, the prices increase, as I saw happen with the mangoes our first month in Dakar. Here in...
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Define
Grace Mannix
2014-12-09
Hey, Mom and Dad? There’s this playground I’ve always wanted to go to. It’s a bit farther away than the one we’re used to and I’m not really sure how to get there or if it has the swings, and I don’t know if the other kids there will be nice, or if I should...
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