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
Looking Back
Dena Muething
2019-05-20
I worked hard to compile my 7 months living in Ecuador into just a 7 minute video. I experienced and went through so much more and past the highlights and what is shown. And as a disclaimer, this video is representative of my experience in Ecuador in the small rural town I lived in the...
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Fundamentally Different, Fundamentally The Same
Maya Foster
2019-05-20
My mother has created the perfect response to an imperfect question; when asked if her daughter returned from her gap year more “__________” (insert mature, worldly, grounded, etc.) or simply just “different,” she avoids a direct answer. Instead, she opts for an anecdote. I will preface this with the fact that I have this information...
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Sweet Rainfall
Maddy Gibson
2019-05-20
There is something comfortable about rainfall. The steady drip of a leaky gutter, a downpour in the middle of the night. It is familiar; it is unchanging. Rain is a constant here in Oregon and it wasn’t uncommon where I lived in Ecuador. In Imbabura, the rain usually comes in the night, settling the dust...
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post-ecuador/pre-going-home
Surabhee Arjunwadkar
2019-05-17
A series of thoughts about a series of things attempting to address the question, “So, how was Ecuador?” 1. Going home has been different for everyone, Or so I’ve heard. I’m not home yet. And at this point, I don’t know if it is really home, or just an incredibly familiar place that...
Read MoreI Went to a Developing Country and Painted a Mural
Maria Bossert
2019-05-14
I know what it looks like. How cliche. But I am going to call it like it is; I went to a developing country and painted a mural. This mural was my Final Community Project, which was a required part of my gap year program. The goal of this project was to identify a problem...
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Day in the Life
Meredith Jones
2019-05-14
6:15am- Wake up, take a shower, eat breakfast with Heidy. Mama Ede cooks breakfast, usually a plate of rice, sometimes with potatoes or bread and quesillo (Ecuadorian cheese) or a boiled plantain (one of my personal favorites). 6:50am- Heidy and I leave the house to catch the bus. 7:30am- 1:00pm – I am at work...
Read MoreHasta Luego
Jeremy Chan
2019-05-13
Never did I think that I would ever live in Latin America, let alone Ecuador when i was a child. It was a part of the world that i had no knowledge about and had no connections to. The past 7 months flew by and till 2 days before i was leaving did i finally...
Read MoreCapstone Videos
Barbara Peck
2019-05-13
Here is a video I made with some moments from my time in Ecuador. I want to emphasize that these are only highlights from my time and do not represent the entire story of my gap year or the country itself. My gap year was incredibly meaningful, full of amazing stories but also some incredibly...
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Little Grey Pickup Truck
Sophie Meltzer
2019-05-11
On so many mornings while in Ecuador I would awaken and, before opening my eyes, think that I was in my bedroom in Framingham. Each time I would drearily lift my eyelids to be reminded that I was in fact, still in my host community. Sometimes this excited me, others it was devastating, and sometimes...
Read MoreCollege Ready!
Sarah Montross
2019-05-06
Before departing for Ecuador, I was pretty sure I knew what I wanted to study in college: public health. During high school, I was fortunate enough to discover my passion for learning about inequalities and injustices through a series of classes structured around researching global issues. I threw myself into every project and field trip...
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Pictures (and Sounds) of My Ecuadorian Day
Macy Lipkin
2019-05-01
When I found out I’d be going to Ecuador, I pictured myself walking down a long dirt road in the rain. That was pretty much it. I didn’t know what else to expect. I had no idea how my daily life in Ecuador would look, especially given that I wouldn’t find out where I’d be...
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La situación actual de los Venezolanos
Adriana Martinez-Smiley
2019-04-30
(An article I wrote for the radio station I worked at.) Para muchos ecuatorianos, la vida cotidiana está plagada de la presencia de los venezolanos. La mayoría de ellos ocupan las calles, venden productos baratos o baten alrededor de carteles que relatan su historia de vida. Una pregunta que muchos ciudadanos ecuatorianos se hacen a...
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