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
Stranger Things
Natalie Choi
2017-11-26
Obviously, when one moves from a highly metropolitan city in East Asia to a small town in Latin America, there are going to be some things that seems a bit unusual to me. However, I chose to used the word ‘stranger’, instead of ‘strange’ not only because I thought that would be more captivating as...
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Because Why Not
Leonardo Ruiz-Sanchez
2017-11-25
It has been 2 months since I’ve landed in Brazil, but it feels like it was just yesterday that I was preparing myself for the ten-hour flight from Houston to São Paulo. I am finding it extremely difficult to accurately sum it all up. There have been many ups and some downs. It’s been a...
Read Morewhat happens to people like me?
Malaak Glover
2017-11-24
What happens to people like me? Trying to understand life is hard ,when you’ve just started living . I wanna know whats next, where do I go after this , and I’m not talking about college . What does life have planned for me next , who do I ask? Spiritual advisors , life gurus,...
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Where I’m From
Erik Oline
2017-11-24
I was running through some old photos on my computer the other day and one caught my attention. I took this photo on a failed fishing trip on the Deschutes river in May. The photo is taken from the inside of my car, facing west towards a large bluff on the opposite bank...
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senegal interlude #001- did a thing.
Stephanie Sanchez-Aguilar
2017-11-24
“I find when I have short hair, I feel like I have nothing to hide behind anymore.” – Halle Berry My hair has been a safety blanket my entire life. I’ve always had hair that was pretty long and undeniably curly. I’ve hid behind it for a really long time. At the beginning of this...
Read MoreFrom Uruguay to Senegal, a shared history
Julieta Lechini
2017-11-23
I often remember the stories that my grandparents and parents used to tell me about my country. An Uruguay where you could leave doors open, where you could buy a bag of sweets for 20cents and where people are welcome to eat or drink mate whenever they feel like. The path of life was slower,...
Read MoreA Sneak Peak at Some Bridge Year Conversations
Sophie von Muench
2017-11-23
The other day, my host father asked me what I talked about all day. I could only laugh, because I had no idea how to begin explaining the conversations I have most days. However, it is a little bit easier in English, so here is a random list of some conversations I’ve had in the...
Read MoreMy apprenticeship
Gijs Smid
2017-11-20
[Nederlands onderaan] Four times a week – Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday – I walk from my house at 7:55 towards the center of the town to start my work in the city hall. I usually walk into an empty office in which I start setting up my little desk with laptop and other necessities....
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This is Messy
Joseph Hansen
2017-11-19
I take a deep breath, putting one foot in front of the other I open my mouth only to exploit the mild embarrassment my friend has over her plans to attend Yale next year. I look around and to my right see this mist covering a dense jungle, to my...
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The Technology Conundrum
Danny DeBare
2017-11-19
A normal greeting in the States goes something like this: “Hey! So nice to see you, thanks for inviting me over.” “It’s my pleasure! Come on in.” “Great…What’s the Wi-Fi password?” Does that sound familiar? Ok, it may not be verbatim, but you get the point. I didn’t realize the extent...
Read MoreIntegration vs. Assimilation
Shukura Babirye
2017-11-18
Global Citizen Year emphasises the idea that we need to integrate to our communities to feel like we have fulfilled this 8 month programme. However, what does that really mean? Integration is defined as enhancing the community that you are in due to the adaptation of both parties in forming a new and improved social...
Read MoreThe Worst Decision
Katie Dodge
2017-11-18
Before I could even process what had happened, the pain hit me. It was burning, blinding, reducing me to a helpless, moaning lump. The one part of my brain that was still sentient tried to get help, to get water, to do something—yet I was unable to move in any direction for lack of vision....
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