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
Getting Grounded.
Dena Muething
2018-09-30
I’ve officially been in Ecuador for a whole month and it’s been full of lots of crying, lots of laughter, lots of connections, and a lot of unknowns. Sunday, August 26th, everyone arrived at Stanford University in California as we begun preparation for our next year in country. The first week at Stanford was full...
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30 days in Senegal
Nisha Gharti Magar
2018-09-30
Its been a month since I got in Senegal. I live with a host family of 8 in a small town called Khombole. When we moved in with our host families we all got a senegales name and I don’t know why that is but I am called Mamdaba Fall Ndiaye. I am named after...
Read MoreUntitled No. 1
Manuel Quesada Nylen
2018-09-30
Although it’s a cliche, I’ve found myself as of recently saying that cliches, as washed up as they may seem, exist for a reason. Curiosity really did kill the cat, one man’s meat really is another man’s poison, actions DO speak louder than words, you really can’t (and shouldn’t) judge a book by its cover;...
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Fragility, Scarcity, Purpose, Love.
Joana Mouzinho
2018-09-30
Fragility, Scarcity, Purpose, Love. It has been hard for me to write. It has been hard for me to gather my thoughts, to put into words what is best remain untold; what is too great to be explained. I guess this a great way of starting this blog. I want to make myself clear: My...
Read MorePublish
Jacqueline Oeschger
2018-09-29
In Whom I Find Home I have never truly called a place home. As I’ve gotten older I have found that “home” for me is less of a location and more people. There is always this ridiculous sign in overly patriotic Army households: along with the Polish Pottery, Bier Steins, and American flag decorated bathrooms...
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Cafecito
Natalia Rijo
2018-09-28
Yesterday after being called by my host mom to drink el “Cafecito”, which will be a coffee with some bread during the afternoon, we started peeling zambo seeds together ( a salty watermelon), while I talked about the limited vegetarian Uruguayan food and she let me see that we share many ingredients but different ways...
Read MoreChapter 3: Gone with the Run
Xandra Coleman
2018-09-27
-A passage adapted from my journal on 23 September 2018- It was one of those days. I’ve been gone away from home for almost a month now, and I had one of those days. For starters, I’ve been perpetually sleep deprived, and, well, we all know how most Colemans, especially me, do on lack of...
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The Dangers of The First Impression
Leonie Tollefson
2018-09-27
Namaste, I’m in India! I’ve been in Pune for about a month now, and it has truly been an incredible experience so far, and I still have 7 months to go! As many of you know, I am taking part in a gap year immersion program called Global Citizen Year. It involves living with a...
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Stories (and Lessons) from My First Few Weeks in Ecuador!
Jeffrey Fishman
2018-09-27
I can’t believe that it has been about a month since I have left the United States to spend a year in Ecuador, living with a host family, learning Spanish, and working with a local organization in my new community. After leaving Pennsylvania, I spent a week at Stanford University in Palo Alto, California, for...
Read MoreMaking the Case for a Global Citizen Year
Bihotza James-Lejarcegui
2018-09-26
I don’t remember exactly how I heard about the idea of taking a gap year, but I do remember that once I learned about it, I felt a sincere need to do it. I grew up in an international household, speaking multiple languages and having family in various parts of the world that granted me...
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3 Weeks In: A Poem
Khalil Laltoo
2018-09-26
Dig for the Roots What is it about this land? I saw a dragon born of evening clouds bow its great head as it lost its way in the pink smoke of the bat streaked sky It is what remains of the natural here, stretches its wings over lands lost to cement and the well-manicured...
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Where In The World Am I
Maddy Gibson
2018-09-26
About a month ago, I moved half a world away. 1400(+) miles from everyone and everything I know. The transition from life in McMinnville, Oregon to life in Urcuqui, Imbabura has been challenging to navigate. Some moments, I feel like I’m living in a dream state. That this world I’m living in is nothing but...
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