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
Happy Holi!
Leonie Tollefson
2019-04-03
The last few days have been a blaze of color and light. I celebrated Holi a total of 3 times, and my best friend Leah came to Pune for a few days and joined me on my daily adventures. You may know Holi from the photos of people covered in colored powder, but it has...
Read More15 things I will miss about being in Floripa
Julia Salomone
2019-04-02
1. Long bus rides to TILAG when the sun is setting 2. Walking through the forest every morning to work 3. Reading on the little island near my host family’s house 4. My host brother working on his art 5. Waking up every morning to work with animals 6. Swimming in an ocean surrounded by...
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My Final Community Project (Preserving Kichwa Folktales)
Jeffrey Fishman
2019-04-02
I can’t believe that my time here in Ecuador is coming to an end! The days have truly flown by in the blink of an eye. I have learned so much over these past seven months, and I know that I am returning to the U.S. as a better version of myself. Before leaving Ecuador,...
Read MoreChanges
Grace Peel
2019-03-31
I only have 3 mornings left in Iluman, the small town in the Sierras of Ecuador that has become my home. Only 3 more breakfasts spent playing with my baby host brother and his cars and action figures, taking breaks every couple of minutes to take a sip of coffee or a bite of huevos...
Read MoreSenegalese women that change the world.
Salome-Valdivieso
2019-03-31
These are the following brief descriptions of women that had made me see the world in a different way. Women with their love and passion had brought back to me the energies to fight towards a more feminist world. This list goes far from these 10 women because there are many others. Also, their descriptions...
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I wanted to buy a book today
Adriana Martinez-Smiley
2019-03-29
I wanted to buy a book today. The distant eyes seem so close when their gaze is fixed on you. I wanted to buy a book today. My hand glided upon the glossy covers as I endured the transfixed look of the “diligent” workers. I wanted to buy a book today. I picked up a...
Read MoreHow I Did Not Have the Senegalese Experience
Marta Shcharbakova
2019-03-29
14.01.2019 Once, I was sitting with my family across my house by the fruit stand. It was the day I got my braids done. We were just chilling and talking as usual, and my sisters were playing with my new hair. Soon, a passenger stopped by next to us and greeted everyone. He was trying...
Read MoreWhen catching chicks use your feet and other things I have learned in Ecuador.
Joseph Brett
2019-03-28
1. Language is culture When I first arrived in Ecuador one of my main goals was to get better and hopefully fluent at Spanish. However, after being here for eight months, I can say something that I am not afraid to say. I am not fluent. Language is not only a collection of words used...
Read MoreCan You Hear How Many Stars Are Out Tonight
Isabel Clarkin
2019-03-27
Something I’m going to miss when I go home is tilting my head up to look at the stars each night when I brush my teeth. I think in a way it feels like my most quiet, independent moment. This one particular night, I decided to record it. The stars were so bright, that I...
Read MoreTeranga Senegal
Nisha Gharti Magar
2019-03-27
“Senegal amna teranga” was one of the first sentencesI learnt when I first came to Senegal. It means Senegal has hospitality and it is very true and people here are very proud of it. Senegalese people are one of the kindest, sharing, caring and open hearted people I’ve met. It is believed here that if...
Read MoreLive From The Field
Luis Juarez
2019-03-27
*Evolution and Racism* Ok. So. This is going to press a few buttons at once. Humans are very good at judging things. Especially when it is unjustified. However, I will not be defending the neurobiological reason for stereotypes, or racism (principally because prejudice is a learned thing). I am going to take a holistic view...
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The perks of being a wallpaper
Aissatou Tagaty Badio
2019-03-26
It’s a typical Saturday afternoon in Khombole. Pawla just picked me up from my house like she always does, and we are both on our way to Nisha’s house. One important thing to note about Pawla is that EVERYONE knows her in Khombole. I cannot put two steps together without hearing “Yaye Fatouuuu!”, her Senegalese...
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