Fellow Stories

My Ecua-Family

Sarah Montross

2018-09-15

I thought I’d designate this blog post to my host family because a short – or long – week ago, I arrived in Guapán, Azogues, Ecuador, where I will be spending the next seven and a half months. Guapán is a small town on the outskirts of Azogues, a relatively modest city in the province...

What am I doing in Senegal? – Part 1

2018-09-15

I am on a cultural exchange program which is called Global Citizen Year (GCY), but to be blunt, I am taking a gap year here in Senegal. There are two parts to this question that deserves two separate posts. The first post is about the program agenda which perhaps will resolve your curiosity regarding the...

MY STRUGGLING PAST, MY BRIGHT PRESENT, AND MY UNCERTAIN FUTURE story

Haider Ali

2018-09-15

WELCOME TO MY 1st GLOBAL CITIZEN YEAR BLOG! This blog is separated in three parts of MY STRUGGLING PAST, MY BRIGHT PRESENT, AND MY UNCERTAIN FUTURE story. Here we go…. (if you find any English mistakes, please let me know if your comments. I have no Excellent English, by the way). MY STRUGGLING PAST, I...

Rain Reflections

Julia-Braunig

2018-09-14

The water is pouring down from the sky as if there’s no tomorrow. The buses here are confusing. With broken portuguese I try to find my way home to “Ingleses” at the North of the Island. The sun is setting very early and shortly after six the whole world is dark. If it weren’t for...

Really? It’s only been a week?

Kaya Pearson-Gaglia

2018-09-14

The fact that I am in another country just truly hit me. My host family is hosting a church gathering at my home and playing Christian rock so loud the house is shaking. If you know anything about the way I was raised this is definitely a new experience for me. It has finally been...

Blog #3

Stephanie Duarte-Pedrosa

2018-09-14

Oi! I’ve now been with my host family for one week. It’s been beautiful. My Portuguese vocabulary has expanded exponentially and I’m excited to share the three best words that l learned this week: 1. sinuca – pool (the game not the body of water) 2. botas de chuva – gum boots 3. mamâo –...

The Eating Habits of the Pineda Family

William Shain

2018-09-14

Yesterday I watched three guinea pigs go from squirming little fellas in a box to a delicacy on my plate. Did I think this would be how my Thursday night would be going? Of course not. But turns out “cuy”, as the dish is referred to in Ecuador, is pretty delicious! Pro tip however: Don’t...

Cheap, Cheap Giggles

Sintra Nichols

2018-09-14

A fun thing about the English language is that, for some reason, it sells like hotcakes in many parts of the world where English is seldom even spoken or understood. One of these locations is Florianópolis, Brazil apparently. And since the English language is rarely understood, the intricacies of its grammar, which us Americans tend...

Cherish the small things in your life.

Qianran Yang

2018-09-13

2018.9.13 Today is the fifth day that I stayed in my Senegal host family. And yes, I’m in Senegal. This summer, instead of directly going to university, I decided to take a gap year. So I applied for “Global Citizen Year”; I got accepted; I made my decision. So here I am Senegal. The first...

What Not to Do When Preparing for a Gap Year

Brian Hill

2018-09-13

*My mom is freaking out.* I mean, you really can’t blame her. I’m the youngest child, and both of my older siblings are way past college and returning to live at home during the summer. So, I’m the only child left, and not only am I going away, but I’m going about as far away...

*Swedish* – Morgonen, 8 september

Ida Nydelius

2018-09-13

Hejsan familj och vänner, en liten historia skriven under första morgonen i min värdfamilj. En familj jag, på fredag, har bott hos i en vecka. Ser framemot att presentera dem för er! Man kan säga att jag trivs som fisken i vattnet. Trevlig läsning, Ida *8 September 2018* Gravitationen gungar mig sakta i hammocken när...

Murphy’s Law and Earning my Cumin: Flight.

Rebecca Rose

2018-09-13

I used to love airports, firmly holding onto a Love Actually-esque romanticized view of hubs for gravity-defying transit, international exchange, and simply harmonious human coexistence. Below is, well, not that. There’s no deep meaning. No profound analyzation. Just a bafflingly long insight into the experience of a chronic schlimazel. Read at your own will. Part...