Fellow Stories
True gap year stories from Fellows abroad!
Check out the latest blogs from Global Citizen Year Fellows in Brazil, Ecuador, and India!
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“Teaching Is Easy,” That’s What They Said
Gemma Kelton
2017-10-23
50 days have flashed by with the blink of an eye, and I’m scared. The next time I blink, 84 days will have come and gone, and soon enough, full 8 months will have slipped through my fingers. I so desperately wish to slow time down, just enough to click a picture, or even...
Read MoreThis week, I survived
Elizabeth Ollila
2017-10-23
Global Citizen Year constantly talks about the concepts of thriving and surviving, and how the goal is to thrive this year (with some times of surviving intermixed). In order to give you all a full view of my year abroad, it is only fair that I include some surviving intermixed with the thriving. This week,...
Read MoreTubab (“White person”) Findings In Senegal
Shannon Yuen
2017-10-22
Let me take you on a simulation that is somewhat replicative of my first 1.5 months here in Senegal. And in case you do experience culture shock just from reading this and in case you do have trouble choosing your coping mechanism for it, take my advice: an excessively aggressive sense of humor never fails....
Read MoreToday’s lesson: Machismo. Take notes, boys.
Layla Solatan
2017-10-22
With respectful, friendly students and teachers, my first day of my apprenticeship was pleasant and running smoothly. It wasn’t until el inspector came into one of the classes I was helping with to call out of couple of boys for their hair length. Their hair was nothing you’d call “girly”—simply too long for the school’s...
Read MoreTrip from Quito to the South
Shauni Lustig
2017-10-22
This is a video I made showing our time in Quito until our arrival in the South. [vc_video link=’https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=nQm8RK6yRSw ‘]
Read MoreThe Proposal
Isabel Hallock
2017-10-22
To share a slightly less deep blog post, and to keep your interest going, let me tell you about October 20th. The day I was proposed to by a Indian travel guide. My host family and I had walked up this beautiful mountain in Humpi, Karnatika, called Ajani, said to be the birthplace of the...
Read MoreBitter Discourses
Isabel Hallock
2017-10-22
The first day I arrived in my host family, my grandmother me an old book called Bitter Discourses. It smelled of curry and old dust, but she said it was one of her most sacred books, and to not damage it, or specifically, put it on the floor. As I began reading, one of the...
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Así Es La Vida
Henry Yeary
2017-10-22
October is cruising to a close, and having lived in Ecuador for over a month now, I can confidently say that each day has come with its own unexpected package of lessons, hardships, smiles, and mysteries; but more importantly, each day I’m starting to feel more and more at home. I currently reside in the...
Read MoreMy Daily Life with Dogs
Mae Reilly
2017-10-20
Every morning I have no need for an alarm, I am either woken up by one of two roosters, or by a dog whining or barking. When I try to leave the house there’s a pretty good chance I am going to be followed. Not by a person but by a dog. The dogs here...
Read MoreFinding my Why
Caroline Smith
2017-10-19
Most people who have decided to take a bridge year know that there are some standard questions people ask when they find out you´re taking a bridge year instead of going straight to college. If other GCY fellows are anything like me, they had their go-to answers perfected well before leaving: “Where are you going?´´ ...
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Disfrutando Ecuatime
Marli Anglim
2017-10-18
Living in the county of Ecuatime, everything moves at a slower pace than back home. Because of this, I have been blessed with time to reflect on where I am. This has allowed me to take in this beautiful rural town the only way I know how, by drawing it. Below is the first...
Read MoreA dream you dream alone is only a dream. A dream you dream together is a reality.
Yesenia Martinez
2017-10-18
It's been 52 days since I left Chapel Hill, NC. I've spent 37 of those days in the beautiful country of Ecuador. It's only been a little over a month, yet I feel like I've known this place, specifically Cañar, for ages. The town I live in is small, and we are encircled by majestic...
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