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
How do I come home?
Elizabeth Ollila
2018-02-28
Why am I here? Why did I voluntarily put myself in the most uncomfortable situation I have ever been in? Why did I decide to make my biggest fear of college—homesickness—even bigger by going further and for longer? Why did I decide to take a year that depended on my worst subject in school—Spanish? Why...
Read MoreGetting Lost – Again
Patil Khakhamian
2018-02-28
Coming from a country where buses are not considered a normal mean of transportation, it is not surprising that I found myself lost trying to figure out the bus system in Florianópolis far too many times. I remember the first time my host sister explained how it works to me in Portuguese, I was nodding...
Read MoreA Three Day Waterfight
JuliaGrace Walker
2018-02-27
Welcome to Carnaval! My host family began counting down the days in October. Every time we wash our clothes (by hand in the cement sink), someone in my family would throw water on me and scream “Carnaval”. I honestly dreaded it and I thought I would hate it. The idea of strangers randomly soaking you...
Read MoreA Letter To My Past and Future Self
Shukura Babirye
2018-02-27
This is a letter in response to what I wrote myself during the Stanford week right before starting this interesting journey. Dear Shukura (August 2017), I know you hoped that I would be completely fluent in Spanish but I am not. I really have improved and I am getting closer everyday and try my hardest...
Read MoreFrench
Katie Dodge
2018-02-27
French And lack thereof I. Do. Not. Speak. French. Sometimes (all the time) I feel like I need a sign on my forehead declaring this to the well-meaning people of Senegal who see my lack of melanin and immediately launch into the official national language, a remnant that still binds the colonizer and...
Read MoreAn Open Letter to Two of the Most Important People in my Life
Isabelle Johnson
2018-02-23
;text-indent:0px;text-transform:none;white-space:normal;word-spacing:0px;background-color:rgb(255,255,255);text-decoration-style:initial;text-decoration-color:initial;margin:0px;line-height:normal;font-family:".SF UI Text";color:rgb(69,69,69)”> Dear Grandma Mary & Grandma Peggy, Maybe the most important thing my gap year has done is open my eyes to the importance of family. I have witnessed countless sacrifices made in the name of family, and unwavering love & respect for relatives during my time here. I have always been aware...
Read MoreThe Drive
Isabelle Johnson
2018-02-23
Just some thoughts from a recent drive. A few weekends ago I traveled north with my little sister to visit an aunt in Saint Louis who recently had her baby girl. We crawled out of bed at 5:45am to catch the bus that would take us the hour and a half journey...
Read MoreCrossing Cultures
Jordan Kendall
2018-02-22
Throughout my childhood, the only things I can recall remembering about Latin American culture are these: Latin America is the same thing as Mexico Latinos are all lazy Latinos are often criminals Latinos in the US are all illegal immigrants My younger self unsuspectingly accepted these generalizations as true due to the miniscule exposure I...
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My Experience in Pictures!
Gabriel Varlack
2018-02-22
Here’s a few photos from my time here so far! Hope you enjoy!
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Jiu Jitsu
Gabriel Varlack
2018-02-22
As some you may or may not now, the host family that I'm staying with has Martial Arts gym in our backyard. I've been training almost everyday since the day I moved in with my host family and I have fallen in love with Jiu Jitsu. In class, I go up against huge guys that...
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Big city life or big city lie?
Filip Carnogursky
2018-02-21
Cities are the future of our civilization; by 2050, 70 percent of us will live in cities. Their relentless expansion is unprecedented. Each year, the inconsolable growth of monstrous cities like São Paulo, greedily swallow the nearby villages, towns and communities. This was the story of boroughs such as Vila Madalena, Vila Mariana, Vila Matilde,...
Read MoreGaining the Confidence of Speaking Another Language
Gabriel Varlack
2018-02-21
Having the ability to speak fluently in someone else's language after only a few months is truly a gift. It's truly been a struggle and allows you to get down on yourself if you're not getting the language as quickly as the other fellows in the cohort. On my independent travel from São Paulo to...
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