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
Focus
Vijay Dukkipati
2014-03-27
I’m a humongous boulder toppling down a hill; once I gain momentum I am unstoppable. When I am against something, I do not budge. It is both my greatest strength, and my fundamental flaw. I used to sit and ponder why I was wired in that fashion. Even more so, I used to be angry....
Read MoreExplanations
Vijay Dukkipati
2014-03-27
A while ago, my mom asked me how Global Citizen helps a person become a better leader. She was generally confused because the web-site was vague, and didn’t necessarily offer much information for how it truly helps a person become a leader, especially while in one’s country. I for one, when I began this journey,...
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My Moms & My Dads
William Kershner
2014-03-27
I’m going to start off by apologizing for my initial “blog post.” Since removed, that previous collection of phrases and remarks was nothing more than a slothful offering from the seventeen year-old version of myself. I’m cringing at the ironically arrogant ‘self-deprivation’ comedy and clichéd excuses for taking a gap year. Again, I apologize for...
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Where in the world are my parents?
Leah Mesh-Ferguson
2014-03-27
Here is a slideshow of photos from my parents visit to Ecuador. Hope you enjoy!
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The Connection
Madeline Lisaius
2014-03-27
The 90’s bus seat fabric is a steaming sponge against my neck, the air a thousand heavy weights against my lungs. With each switch back the bus takes, we descend deeper into the Amazon basin. Although I have left my window open, the humid breeze does little to cool my mom and I; it smells...
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Teachings of a Little Calf
Ilana Marder-Eppstein
2014-03-27
Time seems to be moving in two directions and I feel lost in the middle. Today I have exactly one month left in my home stay. Four weeks. In the anticipation of another transition I feel caught. I pull time to slow the speed at which its moving, or in other ways, I push it...
Read MoreDear washing machine,
Soe Tha
2014-03-27
I miss you so much. I miss your buttons which I push every time my clothes are dirty. I miss your glass window through which I can watch you tumble and turn my clothes to wash them. I am sorry I neglected you before. Whenever I had to load you or unload you, I always...
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Three Months Left
Leah Mesh-Ferguson
2014-03-27
A video from a little while back. Hope you enjoy!
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Finding Meaning
Eva Ackerman
2014-03-25
-Written two months ago. I was extremely upset when I heard my six-month job was to teach English. I thought it was ridiculous; won’t analytical skills improve the students lives more than an English class would? My reasoning was solidified when I arrived to Paraiso De Amigos. All three of the teachers screamed based on students’ ill behavior in...
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Hola, Shalom
Isabel Burns
2014-03-18
The first time I ever realized that being Jewish was rare in some parts of the world was when I visited Mexico at age 13. In the border city of Tijuana, helping to build a house, one of the kids asked me if I was Christian or Catholic. To be fair, I was there with...
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The Bus
Emily Hockett
2014-03-10
Arriving at a seemingly random corner in Otavalo, I said goodbye to the other Global Citizen Year fellows in my region, and stepped onto the street. Nervously placing my backpack on the sidewalk, I looked around. A large yellow bus pulled up, and a family of four came out with flowers, balloons, and pineapple upside-down...
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The Market
Claire Wohlers
2014-03-10
Ibarra (the city nearest to Zuleta) has, hands down, the most impressive food market I have ever seen. Taking up two sizable city blocks, the market is overflowing with colors and scents unlike any other. From meats, to cheeses, to fruits and veggies, to flours and dried legumes, to eateries, this market has it all....
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