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
Christmas in India
Alana Poole
2015-12-30
So I’m alone on this 22-hour train ride going to Bangalore and it was about 11:30pm when I decided that I should sleep. I made my bed, put all my important things in my small bag and packed it and myself into a large burrito with a thick, wool blanket that really didn’t smell all...
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The Struggle with Gender: An Article from a Genderqueer Individual Living in Ecuador
Noah Hapke
2015-12-28
If you may remember, a couple months ago I wrote a blog about being gay and appearing to be “straight” in my community of San Juan. My standpoint on the matter still holds firmly, as I see no need to express this part about me to my community – especially because, after living here for...
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Expectations: A Christmas Edition
Noah Hapke
2015-12-28
When I envisioned my ‘Ecua-Christmas’ I didn’t really know what to prepare for in all honesty. In California where I am from, my family always gathers at my Grandma’s house on Christmas Eve to prepare a nice Italian dinner and open presents together. Then, the next morning, my sister and I would run into my...
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Unbound
Jose Francisco Esquer Jr.
2015-12-25
Every day I feel my reality changing, but the change is conscious and intentional. Four months have gone by and my world is slipping further and further from where I was, yet I feel more connected to who I was. Today marks the halfway point of this journey and the culmination of good and bad...
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Becoming an adult is probably the dumbest thing you could ever do.
Jackson Harris
2015-12-23
Written on December 23, 2015 On Blossoming into a Beautiful Young Man It’s pretty fitting that my birthday gift was The Indispensable Calvin and Hobbes, 250 pages that whisked me back to childhood evenings spent leaning over Calvin and his furry best friend at the dining room table, staining the pages with spaghetti sauce....
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Little Rain Cakes — October 28, 2015
Eve Harris
2015-12-23
Last week, I decided to start volunteering at a local preschool in addition to volunteering at Projeto Lontra because I wanted to spend more time working with children. I go to the preschool Monday afternoons and Wednesday mornings. Because I do not have any formal teaching training, I am just an “amiga” or “tia,” a teacher who is more of...
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How to Make a Bed in Brazil — October 25, 2015
Eve Harris
2015-12-23
I know how to make my bed. After all, I have been making my bed since I could tie my shoes. Bottom fitted sheet top sheet pillows with pillowcases blankets comforter: sleep in it at night and make it in the morning. There’s nothing to it, right? Wrong. When I arrived at my new...
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“Adulthood” — September 23, 2015
Eve Harris
2015-12-23
I reject the number 18. Eighteen. In the picture above, I am two-years old and my dad is thirty. The age difference between my dad here and me now is the same as the age difference between my baby sister and I. It seems inconceivable (to quote one of my favorite characters), that that tiny little girl headed to...
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Whistles — September 21, 2015
Eve Harris
2015-12-23
When I blow a whistle, one of two things happens: kids start scooping up rings and rubber ducks or a river otter hops up on its hind legs like a meerkat and pokes its little face in a tube. I spent many mornings in 2015 working at Hayden Recreation Center as a lifeguard and swim instructor. This...
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Pimenta — September 19, 2015
Eve Harris
2015-12-23
From left: Anna Louisa, my host niece, Pureza, my host mother, Joara, my host sister, Octavio, my host nephew, Jezia, my other host sister, and Jesse, my host father. I have spent my first two weeks in Brazil living with my host family in Curitiba, the capitol city of Parana, one of the southern-most states in Brazil. The...
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Searching for Success with SESI
ericagonzales08
2015-12-23
It’s been 3 months since I’ve entered my community here in Paranaguá. I’ve already overcome some challenges (such as learning how to ride a bike), but the challenge that remains is with my apprenticeship. I’m still confused and feel as if I’m a failure. After 3 months, shouldn’t I feel that I’m growing as a...
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Hi I’m back! and other ramblings…
Rosalie Bull
2015-12-21
Hi I’m back, and I’m sorry for the very very delayed blog. Ecuador swept me away, shook me around, made me its careless plaything, and continues to surprise me. Ecuador was, is, acting like a sour patch kid. A very early morning, very insistent bowl movement is met with a sleepy but bright sunrise....
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