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
Re-tweaking.
Indira Patel
2016-03-07
It’s now February; and I have posted just two blogs. The content part comes easily, my life is eventful, I am learning new things all the time, and my mind is full of thoughts. It’s the writing part that’s hard – there’s an art to writing beautifully; it’s not easy to review your work, and...
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FEELS #4 – LOVE
Austin Nguyen
2016-03-07
I used to feel really weird when other fellows told me they loved me. I think I was being sorta picky with my definition of “love” – it was like, “you’ve only known me like, 4 months man, do you really even know me enough to ‘love’ me” kinda stuff. It was also, I think,...
Read MoreAn Ode to the Morretes Monsters
Kristine Koehler
2016-03-05
A quick little video of my time in the small town of Morretes.
Read MoreMy Host Community
Skyler Narotsky
2016-03-04
Three kilometers above sea level in the southern Ecuadorian Andes sits the ancient indigenous kichwa-speaking community of Cañar. Located in terrain consisting of steep ravines and grassy slopes, most Cañaris still work the fields as subsistence farmers producing crops native to the Andes such as quinoa and potatoes. As is typical in many agricultural communities,...
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Kathputli
Jeff Pham
2016-03-03
What you see is an Indian art form called Kathputli. Kathputli is a joint of of two Rajasthani [people up in north India] words Kath meaning wood and Putli meaning a doll which has no life. Put these two words together [Kathputli] and it means a puppet which is made entirely from wood. However, the word itself is fairly inaccurate.The...
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Embracing all aspects
Brooke Donner
2016-03-03
My life here in Senegal has been full of extremes— extreme moments, people, and emotions— each battling to pull me over to their end of the spectrum. When I ride my bike through town, people often yell “toubab, okan kado”— “white person, offer me a gift”— leaving me feeling a bit ostracized and agitated....
Read MoreIt’s going to rain
Jordan.t.brett
2016-03-03
“Put on a coat Jordan, it’s going to rain” Rolling off his tongue in a sure and steady Lebanese accent, the phrase was meant as a joke by a man who had been the fascination of our group during training session one. He had the ability to tell fascinating stories, teach lessons and leave just enough mystery to enthrall us...
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A Homesickness Story: What Makes Global Citizen Year Fellows, Team Leaders & the People You Meet so Spectacular
Hugo Santiago
2016-03-02
Want to know something that’s been really tough about being in Ecuador? I haven’t had anyone been able to come visit me and I was feeling pretty down in mid-January. I guess the homesickness was just a bit too much. Not to mention, I can’t really explain what it’s like to hear the other fellows talk...
Read MoreTo Everything
Janet Sebastian-Coleman
2016-03-02
February 9th I’ve often lamented that I would not be in Senegal long enough to see another change in season. The start of the rainy season seems far more exciting than its end; I can picture the clouds rolling in, shadows falling across the brown grasses, my siblings suddenly jumping up and dancing, the first fat drop hitting my nose,...
Read MoreThe Way of Life
Janet Sebastian-Coleman
2016-03-02
January 28th “Tell us about the American way of life,” the student asked, looking up from his notebook. “The American Way of Life?” I repeated back, stalling for time. I stood before thirty students, eyes looking carefully, waiting for a simple response. I sifted and stumbled through my own routine, my high school, my mother’s and...
Read MoreLessons in Patience
Janet Sebastian-Coleman
2016-03-02
January 19th 2016 Rama turned the page in my book, “Ca c’est cent trieze”. I look at the small number in the page corner, “O’o”, I flip back to the previous page, “ca c’est cent quinze, so…” I turn back to our page “Ca c’est cent… apres cent quinze, honnu aray?”. Rama pauses and studies the three...
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An Average Day
Anna Del Savio
2016-03-01
My weekdays here in Otavalo, Ecuador start either waking up as my sister comes into the room to get her school clothes, waking up as a fly dedicates its morning to buzzing around my head and landing on my face, or sleeping through my alarms and rushing to get to school on time. My first...
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