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
Anitápolis
Dominique Landinez
2017-10-23
I was seduced by a heavenly concoction of light, warmth, and aroma in Anitápolis. I walk towards the fire slowly, the soft glow spools over my skin. I take a deep breath. I stood at a distance, watching the fire climb. It moved quickly, entrancing me with it’s erratic dance. Every now and then it...
Read MoreBlog V
Nicolas Livon-Navarro
2017-10-23
One of the toughest things for me on this trip has been balancing my emotions. A gap year to a whole new country is an emotionally exhausting experience in and of itself. Every day I experience a type of emotional roller-coaster that I seldom experienced before embarking on this journey. I fade in and out...
Read MoreBlog IV
Nicolas Livon-Navarro
2017-10-23
It’s been Thirty-four days since I arrived on this incredible island. Thirty-four days since I moved to this new place I’ll, one day call home. I know this process will change me in so many ways and looking back on how different I was will be crazy, but being in it is overwhelming. Overwhelming in the...
Read MoreMy Daily Life with Dogs
Mae Reilly
2017-10-20
Every morning I have no need for an alarm, I am either woken up by one of two roosters, or by a dog whining or barking. When I try to leave the house there’s a pretty good chance I am going to be followed. Not by a person but by a dog. The dogs here...
Read MoreFinding my Why
Caroline Smith
2017-10-19
Most people who have decided to take a bridge year know that there are some standard questions people ask when they find out you´re taking a bridge year instead of going straight to college. If other GCY fellows are anything like me, they had their go-to answers perfected well before leaving: “Where are you going?´´ ...
Read MoreA Marvelous & Wearisome First Month in Brazil (written during the beginning of October)
Filip Carnogursky
2017-10-18
Stanford. New friendships. Inspiring speeches. Learning a new language. More friends. Cultural differences. First signs of fluency in Portuguese. Making a joke in Portuguese! Cultural and language similarities. Host father. Host family. Beautiful beaches. Views. Smells. Unfamiliar food and drinks. Time to think. Downtime….From each day that I spent in Brazil, I can come up...
Read MoreFé
Kara Esplin
2017-10-16
Today I learned the word Fé. Today Fé meant getting on a bus, hoping it was going to the right place, kind of knowing it wasn't, but REALLY hoping it was. Fé meant looking out the window at the terminal I needed to get off at, but the one my bus wasn't stopping at- but Fé meant knowing I'd get there… eventually. (Even if that Fé...
Read MoreCapoeira is Treachery
Nick Cleveland-Stout
2017-10-14
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Read MoreDia das Crianças & Nossa Senhora Aparecida
Leonardo Salvatore
2017-10-12
Dia das Crianças—the equivalent of International/Universal Children’s Day—is one of the most important holidays in Brazil. Today schools are closed and fireworks fill the sky with vivid colors. Children receive presents from their families and friends, eat lots of cake and other candies, and have fun during a day that is meant to celebrate the...
Read MoreBlog III
Nicolas Livon-Navarro
2017-10-09
It’s really hard for me to sit here in front of my computer with a large white screen in front of me and try to put into words what my experience here is like. I learned in school that there are two types of experiences that circle around two types of happiness. The first is...
Read MoreTo Eat or Not to Eat
Jonas Gerken
2017-10-05
Food is a core component of culture. Many cultural aspects are structured around food. In some instances the evening meal can encompass entire traditions, such as the Thanksgiving dinner. During my first two weeks in Brazil, I found it almost impossible to avoid consuming foods that I had never encountered before; in most cases these...
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You’re Not in Oregon Anymore
Sophie Winter
2017-10-04
As my mosquito bites grow in number, so does my inept ability to sit through an entire conversation acting as if I understand. As my first month of being immersed comes to an end, I realize all of the subtle, yet different changes I have made in my life with the Bento family. We always have on...
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