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
Brown and Bold
Ashley Trejo
2019-04-24
I can recall my early preschool and kindergarten days where I would spend countless hours (probably minutes) drawing and coloring to my heart’s content. I was not one of the children that would paint the sky green as the sky is blue or cloud anything other than shades of white and gray. That was not...
Read MoreInca Kola
Tiarnan Ferry
2019-04-23
Throughout my time in Ecuador, one interesting product I took a liking to was Inca Kola. This yellow Peruvian soda is not sold in the United States of course, but can be found in almost every Ecuadorian streetside store. The flavor is intriguingly bubblegummy (which I love), however many Ecuadorians I spoke to felt otherwise....
Read MoreWater
Avry Richter
2019-04-23
Water. Uncontrollable and flawlessly wild. The substance that binds our bodies and quenches our throats. This precious and invaluable resource has unspeakable power. This value is ever present and largely known. I must pay homage to a body of flowing water that kept me sane, that kept me loved, and reminded me that I too...
Read MoreGauri Vaishali Fuerez Navarrete
Surabhee Arjunwadkar
2019-04-22
When I came to Ecuador, I had certain assumptions about how my life would look like. I didn’t know anything about anything and this is one of the things I had not expected. At all. During my second month with my host family, I found out that my 17-year-old host sister, Lesly, was pregnant. I...
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Falling in Love
Julia Salomone
2019-04-21
It was the beginning of January and I still wore fear like a scarf around my neck. I was grappling with it – truly! The week before I had even eaten a new type of pastel my friends had been begging me to try. I came to Brazil very afraid of the world around me...
Read MoreAre you taking a gap year?
Salome-Valdivieso
2019-04-20
For everyone thinking about taking a gap year in a foreign country: If you are taking a gap year make sure your baggage is full of expectations. So then you can break them along with all prejudices built by single stories. Only then you will start being surprised rather than only expecting. A gap year...
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India Unexpected
Leonie Tollefson
2019-04-20
India has been full of surprises this year, especially since I tried to have no expectations going into it. I have now been back in my home, Madison, WI, for a few days and I’ve been reflecting on what things shocked me most about India. I wrote this little list up before I left India,...
Read MoreA Statement on Fear
Grace Partridge
2019-04-18
My error was fear of error, was silence, was numbing myself and convincing myself that the shadow of existence I was living as was who I was supposed to be. (frozen, terrified of failing, voiceless) Until one day, I wasn’t. And it didn’t happen right away, either. It happened in little moments that forced me...
Read MoreA Journey of Healing, through Journal Snippets
Grace Partridge
2019-04-18
During my time in Ecuador, my journal became an explosion of self love and introspection as I learned what it means to be alive and growing. Throughout the journey of fighting for myself, I changed in many ways. Part of my journey is visible through the bits of writing I’ve included below. 10/12 & things...
Read MoreCollege Decision Day 2.0
Sophie Auvin
2019-04-18
I hit the refresh button willing the status update to appear early. It was Friday, February 8th and Hamilton College EDII decisions were coming out at 8:00 pm EST. I hit the refresh button again just as the clock changed to 11:00 pm Brasilia time and the blue “view update” link appeared. Breathing in and...
Read MoreLittle Things Don’t Feel Big Enough
Macy Lipkin
2019-04-18
Little things excite me about going home: having a bunch of sweatshirts to choose from, eating bagels and tofu and drinking lots of almond milk, seeing my dogs again. It’s been a long time since Mom and I counted expired inspection stickers as we drove around. I can’t wait to eat wacky vegan food—as much...
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thoughts before i said goodbye
Sophia Youngdahl
2019-04-18
From my journal, 23 March 2019… when goodbye was still a fleeting idea I cannot define what force holds me here What roots I have somehow discovered Curling their way upwards to the sunlight Seemingly carved into existence By red clay And ancient hands, A face with crinkles when she smiles and the belt of...
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