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
Viva La Vida Gringa
Ava Rofougaran
2014-10-13
A month ago, I would have expected to be somewhere in Senegal right now. But what I’ve taken from these few weeks is that things never – ever – turn out the way one expects. After a busy week of Pre-Departure Training in California, I boarded a plane with four fellow switchers to Quito, Ecuador. Quite a...
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Where I Live
Lindsay Saligman
2014-10-09
Imagine you’re in Quito. Imagine you’ve just arrived on a plane from wherever you’re from. Imagine getting on a bus and heading East. Imagine driving through the valleys of Cumbaya and Tumbaco as you leave the city, and then imagine climbing the Andes mountains until you get so high nothing grows. Then, very suddenly, you’ll...
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Resettling
Georgia Reid
2014-10-07
[Wiser – Old Man Canyon, Phantoms & Friends E.P.] Monday, the 6th of October, marks the beginning of my sixth full week here. The first three weeks in Quito (the capitol city of Ecuador) I lived with a host family, attending language school and training seminars, squeezing in bits of exploration as I could. I...
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“Welcome home, mi hija!”
Elisa Portz
2014-10-07
I have found Ecuadorian people to be very hospitable. My host family has made me part of their family. They have really taken me into their home and welcomed me greatly. This morning I asked my host mom if I could do my laundry and she said yes, so I went to get my dirty...
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Drawing Inspiration from Insecurities
Laurel Rogers
2014-09-29
Quito is a city of two million people, with an extremely large, complicated public transportation system. I have been using this transportation almost every day to get to Spanish classes, Global Citizen Year events, and other places. However, after only three weeks, I barely know which bus to take. Thursday night I went to a...
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On Authenticity
Isabel Nardi
2014-09-25
Put twenty girls in a youth hostel and illness is bound to go around. There I was, sitting in a chapel in Quito listening to directions on how to operate my Ecua phone, hard to believe that 53 eighteen year olds need to be taught how to use old school internet-less phones, right? However, in...
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Something.
Elizabeth O'Malley
2014-09-24
On a clear Saturday, three friends and I hailed a cab to take us to “el Teleférico.” I’m not quite sure what that translates to, but our understanding was that we were headed to the base gondola of volcán Pichincha. And luckily, this isn’t one of my many stories where the cab driver has no...
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On Mastering the Art of Discomfort
Bella Bjornstad
2014-09-24
The other day we were asked to describe a time when we felt our most healthy, in body and mind, and when we felt the most satisfied. I picked out several examples, but none felt as real as now. While I might have made a few too many stops at the panederia on my way...
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Why Expectations Are Good
Briana Merrigan
2014-09-24
Since 8th grade, I have backpacked at least 45 miles each summer, so when my friends and I decided to hike the volcano, Pichincha, one Saturday afternoon I felt confident in my abilities. However, as we rode up to the base of the mountain in el Teleferico (basically a ski lift) and the air was already...
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The bigger picture
Danielle Spencer
2014-09-21
I found myself lost in the middle of Quito. We were five gringos with maps out trying to find the next point on the map to check off for the chance to win a mystery prize at the end of the race. Task 1: Find a place for “Almuerzo” that costs no more than 2.75$....
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Finally, My Explanation
Rosie Fitzsimmons
2014-09-17
At the beginning of the year, I had my mind set on making the more practical choice and going to community college whilst living at home. Now I’m going to be living in another country for the next 7 months. Nowadays the huge expense of college has convinced our generation that no time can be...
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My ‘exceptional’ first few weeks
Lindsay Saligman
2014-09-12
If I were to describe my first few weeks in one word that word would be ‘exceptional’. Be careful: By exceptional I don’t mean wonderful or perfect or exceeding my expectations in absolute blow-my-mind-into-a-million-pieces-ness. What I mean by exceptional is, characterized by exceptions: things that are unusual or not as one would expect them to...
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