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
Straying Off the Common Path
ericagonzales08
2015-08-27
When I meet new people and when they learn that I am a recent high school graduate, they always ask me, “Where are you going to college?” My answer is always, “Oh, I don’t know yet. But I am taking a bridge year in Brazil.” And their response is usually either “Oh, that’s so cool!”...
Read MoreAbout to Leave . . .
Skyler Narotsky
2015-08-27
It's four in the morning and the shuttle leaves to take us to the airport in an hour. The Senegal cohort has already left to catch their flight and the rest of us are just sitting around playing games and chatting about the events to come. To be completely honest, as far as I know...
Read MoreLive From The Field
stina.uro
2015-08-27
Namaste! Tomorrow I leave for India, a country I for years have felt a connection with, without ever being able to explain why and what connects us. I am a bit nervous about the temperature, my lack of appropriate clothes and my Hindi which is at a level of a two year old kid –...
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The Question
Maria Nazarova
2015-08-27
Senior year is a stressful time at first, but becomes exciting once students finally decide upon the path they will embark on after graduating from high school. The application process, college tours and decision time are a different experience for all, but no one can escape the inevitable question: “What college are you going to...
Read MoreFirst Blog Post
Desire Mulla
2015-08-27
When I first arrived at the Pre Departure Training (PDT) of Global Citizen Year I thought that I was in this program for all the visible reasons. I thought I was well prepared for it due to my prior UWC experience and I pictured them as the same. However little did I know that even though both programs...
Read MoreCLAY
Indiana Nunez Sharer
2015-08-27
I come from a land where beneath the surface of the ground there is rich, terracotta colored clay. It is clay that when walked upon adheres to the bottom of your soles and if those soles just happen to be bare, well, you will find your feet to be tinted red. In this same land from which I come...
Read MoreThings In My Room
Mila Le
2015-08-27
Things in my room, I have clothes, books, an excessive amount of pillows, I have peace. I’m deciding what I should pack. I’m deciding on what I need. In my ginormous suitcase I’ve packed a lot of t-shirts, a couple pairs of pants, 2 pairs of shoes, some formal dresses and a lot more toiletries...
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And a hush fell over the crowd…
Andrew William Dunn
2015-08-27
And a hush fell over the crowd… How do I even begin to put into words the amount of excitement that I am feeling? When I think back to April, when I first heard that I had gotten in, I was in awe of the chance that I had received. This opportunity came at such a...
Read MoreDeparture
Charlotte Robbins
2015-08-27
I’ve always considered myself to be a planner; I map out events and deadlines, space out my time accordingly, and am disoriented by sudden changes in my schedule. About two months ago, however, I made the most impulsive decision of my life. I was sprawled across my couch watching Scrubs, when I jolted upright with the sudden...
Read MoreWhy am I doing this?
Katherine Brooke-Davidson
2015-08-27
I think that’s what I’m asked most frequently when I tell someone I’m moving to Ecuador. Or occasionally, with a little more sass, “On purpose?” It’s also something I ask myself. It’s a difficult question to answer beyond kind of generic, superficial goals. For instance, I want to learn Spanish, and interact with a new culture, and...
Read MoreAt Long Last
Emery Harwell
2015-08-27
I’m sure you’ve all heard me talk about Ecuador and Global Citizen Year, and if you haven’t then you’ve probably seen it somewhere on my Twitter and Facebook. Today I’m really going. My past eight days have been spent with and amazing cohort of my new friends, while learning from an incredible group of staff,...
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Departure Day: The Start of a New Journey
Munyaradzi Munyati
2015-08-27
Finally, the journey that I have been preparing myself for since that special April evening has begun. All the waiting and frantic running around to get this vaccine and that visa has ended up with me on the airport floor preparing myself for a 9+ hour flight. One would think that after packing up and...
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