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
Why nature saves me
Marco Barracchia
2019-03-24
During my gap year (and all my life) I’ve always felt a strong urge to consistently connect with nature. The reason behind is that it helps me grounding, meditating and connecting to the roots of the earth. Listening to the whispering of birds, watching sunsets, swimming in the cold ocean, hiking, canoeing, running, among others,...
Read More
Tupi Guaranì: a history of resistance
Marco Barracchia
2019-03-24
During my experience in Brazil, I had the pleasure to visit two Tupi-Guarani aboriginal communities. This experience opened a new world to me, and deeply intrigued my curiosity. In homage to this beautiful, resilient, admirable, brave, and extraordinary community I decided to write a blog, completely in Portuguese, describing a bit of my understanding and...
Read More
Allowing Yourself to Break Free
Peter Dull
2019-03-23
There is never a dull moment in Senegal (pun intended). As I make my final errands for my supervisor’s wedding in Dakar and wrap up my final community project, I often forget those who have been with me throughout this entire journey: my host family. Although I had issues initially when I was assimilating into...
Read MoreA guide for gap yearers
Marco Barracchia
2019-03-22
I wish I had a booklet in my pre-departure preparation with some advice on practicalities encountered on a gap year. This might be limited to my own (and other fellows experiences), though potentially useful for everyone considering a gap year. 1. Be a curious observer. Curiosity before judgment. Be open to cultural relativity to unlearn...
Read MoreRunning as in Life
Marco Barracchia
2019-03-22
It’s about the trail, not the destination Few times it happened to me to be seeing run-races here in Brazil, to the extent to which they seem to be a popular thingy. Although it might be something cultural here, I was keen enough to go running for the pleasure of running, instead of racing, and...
Read MoreWhy a gap year?
Marco Barracchia
2019-03-22
Why a gap year? “Why a gap year?” “Why would you take a gap year and volunteer on the other part of the ocean?” “Why would you volunteer, If you could be paid while working?” Having lived in a UWC in Norway in the last two years of my education, I realized there was a...
Read More
Leaving?
Julia-Braunig
2019-03-22
It’s been a couple of months since I have updated this blog last and a lot has happened. I changed my host family, I went to Rio on a Solo-trip, I have been accepted to universities and am slowly figuring out the next step of my life, I have been sick for a long time,...
Read More
Live From The Field
Sundhya Alter
2019-03-21
[image: IMG_3154.JPG] Aji is something that I am going to miss. I am going to miss its spicy tanginess that always hits right where it’s supposed to. When I think of aji I think of my abuelas smile as she peels potatoes in the kitchen, or my host brothers laugh, or even the long bus...
Read More
The Best of Florianópolis
Grace Sander
2019-03-21
After spending over six months in Florianópolis, Santa Catarina I’ve finally familiarized myself with some of Brazilian culture and cuisine. I say “some” because the island I live on doesn’t properly reflect the demographics of the country as a whole since the majority of residents here are of European descent and huge groups of international...
Read MoreA Day in the Fields of an Environmental Movement
Grace Partridge
2019-03-21
My internship at Vibrant Village Foundation provides me with many unique opportunities to learn about environmental conservation, including the chance to witness action on the forefront of the agro-ecology movement in Ecuador. Yesterday, what started as simple office work turned into a field trip to farmers’ markets, an organic *almuerzo (lunch)* restaurant, and the chance...
Read More