Fellow Stories
True gap year stories from Fellows abroad!
Check out the latest blogs from Global Citizen Year Fellows in Brazil, Ecuador, and India!
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Class Year
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The Age Line
Ely Kadish
2013-02-26
Age is a funny thing; it is a concept that seems to have us wrapped around its finger. We are always worrying about how our age changes us, not how we change our age. I have always seen age stages that are split but the invisible, yet decisive, Age Line. The first stage is childhood:...
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Family Time
Nathan Edwards
2013-02-13
Hey family and friends, Hope everyone is well. I had a great visit with my Mom and Sister about 2 weeks ago and I hope that they have been able to tell you about their experiences in Ecuador personally. After having not seen my family for 5 months, it was definitely an emotional rush to...
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Outside
Aidan Holloway-Bidwell
2013-02-13
Day 163 in Ecuador 02/08/2013 Living in Los Bancos gives one a glimpse of the overwhelming power of nature. Simply step fifty meters off the main street into the wilderness. Twisted ridged trunks rise on all sides like the pillars of an ancient atrium. From the thick, pulpy layers of decay covering the earth vegetation...
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On Moving
Meg Crenshaw
2013-02-05
I changed host families a couple of weeks ago. Although my new family members–and new house–are only about ten yards away, I still had to go through the process of packing up and moving. And as I pulled apart every single thing in my room, I started feeling exactly like George Banks in Father of...
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If She Had Only Known
Betty Gebre
2013-02-05
As a younger girl she watched telenovelas because that was what her mother and her older sister always watched. When she saw half-naked models in the newspapers, billboards, and on her father’s motorcycle she would stop to stare and idolize for that was what everyone did. When she was thirteen years old puberty had come. She was no longer considered a girl,...
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Thank The Garbage Worker
Aidan Holloway-Bidwell
2013-01-28
The next time he rolls by in his big, loud, clanky truck, thank the garbage worker. If there is one bit of advice I can give you as a result of my experience here in Ecuador that would be it. You don’t need to sound overly sincere, certainly not sarcastic, just say a simple “thank...
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Define Collaboration
Hannah Bouline
2013-01-28
I must have re-written this blog post a thousand times. If not on my computer, then at least in my thoughts. As I navigate each day living with an Indigenous family in rural Ecuador, my version of this blog post has constantly been changing. I suspect that this arises from my continually changing vocabulary. Yes,...
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Beyond the Drawing Board
Aidan Holloway-Bidwell
2013-01-28
Development: noun. The process of developing or being developed. A specific state of growth or advancement. Being so general, the formal definition of the word “development” is open to many interpretations, and can be applied to an array of situations. Animals develop biologically, countries develop economically, plans, plots, and people also all develop. The definition...
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The Good Life
Betty Gebre
2013-01-28
One of the topics I had been curious about learning in taking a gap year was poverty. I could not come to understand how poverty existed in the 21st century. After spending two months in Puerto Quito, Ecuador and becoming familiarized with Voices of the Poor I have discovered a new definition for Poverty and...
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Stagnant lake
Galen Tsongas
2013-01-25
Belay all judgments. Think. Observe. Ask. When words like weird, disorganized, and crazy are used, what is happening? Why do I perceive that someone is disorganized, or weird? I lived in a relatively small capsule where thoughts converged to funnel certain thoughts down rivulets that led to a lake of stagnant thoughts. The thoughts of...
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Earplugs
Lydia Collins
2013-01-24
One of the first bits of Ecuadorian cultural advice I remember receiving at Stanford is to expect a lot of noise. Our innocent, pre-departure selves were told that the dogs bark more here, the music is played louder, and the cars never cease to honk. I listened to the advice, processed it, and then forgot about it. I was...
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Looking Up: From Sympathy to Respect
Sydni Heron
2013-01-24
A version of this blog has also been featured on Everyday Ambassador. Follow this link to read the story there. _____________________________________ ¨ANTECEDENTES: El Patronato es un organismo de carácter social, creado para dar protección social a los grupos humanos más vulnerables del cantón. El accionar parte de las políticas trazadas por el Gobierno Cantonal...
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