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
Sama Waa Kerga
Erik Oline
2017-12-20
My halfway point of my time in Senegal is just days away now; if I blinked I would have missed the past 3.5 months. I figured that by this point I probably should have devoted a bit more of this blog towards my amazing host family, but hey, better late than never. My host...
Read MoreThe Guinea Pig
Carolina Castillo
2017-12-19
The Plan Hey everyone my name is Carolina Castillo, and welcome to my blog! The plan was to start blogging before arriving to Ecuador, but of course that didn’t happen. Why? Simple. Wait, no, it’s actually quite complicated… let’s start from the beginning. I had just graduated from Theodore Roosevelt High School, and was not...
Read MoreTo Hell with Political Correctness: The Calling of Joking Kinships
Shannon Yuen
2017-12-18
Listen up — I’ve got a confession to make: I call black people my slaves. Quite frequently. Matter of fact, I do it on a daily basis. (Cue: “wow who do you think you are you self-entitled ill-informed privileged war-waging racist have you ever thought of how this could possibly oppress and violate the...
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Noh
Isabelle Johnson
2017-12-18
Not a day passes in the small, rural village of Colobane where the phrase nohi tamin (Sereer Laala for "the sun is hot") isn't uttered over & over. It is a frequent addition to the extended greetings made throughout the day to neighbors, friends, & family members. Throughout the past 3+ months in Senegal, however,...
Read MoreStereotypes: My Analysis After (almost!) 4 Months of Life in Ecuador
Sadie Troup
2017-12-18
Okay, so I’ve been living in Ecuador for around 3 to 4 months now, and I’ve come to the conclusion that a lot of the times when I talk about my life here, I accidentally end up stereotyping my experience. Here’s what I think the fundamental problem is: When people ask...
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There’s a Third Way to Spell Hanuca
Danny DeBare
2017-12-17
It’s the age old debate: is this oil-filled eight day holiday spelled Hanukkah or Chanukah? Well, boy do I have some news for you. English isn’t the only language that uses transliteration. After skipping salsa class to take a two and a half hour bus ride to Quito on a Friday afternoon, I...
Read MoreTips + Tricks to Bond with Host Families
Phuong Nguyen
2017-12-16
Say yes more! Carpe diem! Sometimes you end up on a pleasant walk, sometimes you end up at your nephew’s Baptism (severely underdressed). My host brother Freddy, his wife Andrea, and their bootiful children Nico and Andy 🙂 Laugh. You don’t have to get the joke (and they probably know you don’t get...
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Move those hips!
Filip Carnogursky
2017-12-14
“Dance is the best therapy” a dance professor confidently announced on the beginning of my first samba class. It startled me. When I thought of dancing, I either thought of monotonous jumping in a club with one fist raised to the ceiling, or of strenuous counting of my steps and stressing out whether I and...
Read MoreInternational house of pancakes
Avinash Jagroo
2017-12-14
It's quite funny that we as humans crave for something novel when at home, yet we cling to any sense homeliness and familiarity once miles away. It started on a cold-never in my life did I think I'd be saying this-Sunday morning in Senegal. I had a couple other fellows (Kevin and Nick) visiting my...
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Hamid Ahmed Abulrhman
2017-12-14
Hey Guys, Background Info: My name is Hamid Ahmed. I was born in Yemen , in the Middle East. I lived there six years, and then after that my family moved to Hungary. I spent the next 10 years of my life here. When I was 16 , I applied to a high school system...
Read MoreCapoeira Angola
Dominique Landinez
2017-12-14
I was awaken by a knock on my door Sunday morning. I had just gotten home 3 hours earlier from a late night out. It was early. I reluctantly peeled off my covers and rolled out of my bed to open the door. The blinding bright light poured in and took me off guard. I...
Read MoreGuachapalian Gorilla
Antony Le
2017-12-12
During my first week of teaching English in Guachapala, Ecuador, I encountered my worst nightmare: a crying seven-year-old in the middle of class. Her name was Kelly, and she was one of the shyest girls at my school; I never talked to her before. So, when she started bawling loudly mid-class, I didn’t know how...
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