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
A Letter to Quito
Emily Hwang
2012-09-17
Dearest Quito, You are a noisy city. Even in the second before I drift off into sleep or the second after I awake, even with my eyes closed and lights off and consciousness wavering, I could never pretend to be anywhere else. You are too full and thick. Your smells (both the yummy food ones...
Read MoreThat time I decided to take a year off before college…
Kimberly Nerea Tellez
2012-09-13
Being pressured into doing something can sometimes come as a relief when you don’t know what you want. But having a choice is always the better alternative. Lucky for me, I realized this last year during the college application frenzy of senior year. Though I felt ready for college, and definetly ready to do something...
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Bienvenidos
Nathan Edwards
2012-09-13
Hola mi amigos, Ecuador!!! I posted some pictures of the soccer game that we attended against Bolivia (Ecuador won 1-0!!!!). What a great experience to go to the game. The atmosphere in the city and stadium was electric before, during, and after the game. Que cheverre! My host family is a great group of people....
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Having finally left the US of A
Graham Collins
2012-09-13
We just flew over Panama on our way to Quito from San Francisco (via Miami). Many of the talks and discussions that occurred during fall training involved meditation, self-reflection, and mindfulness. I suppose I should write some reflective words down. I consider myself to be a very thoughtful person, normally overthinking even the most basic...
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A New Country – A New Home
Meliza Windmoeller
2012-09-10
I left my heart in San Francisco…as the saying goes.Who knew that spending 10 days in the city by the bay could permanently change me? Not me that’s for sure. When I first arrived at the beautiful campus of Stanford college my mind was cluttered with the unimportant clatter of usual teenage din and the...
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Here I am
Ely Kadish
2012-09-10
Here I am a baby. I do not yet know how to live in this place. I am guided and my hand is held. I see all, but understand much less. I soak up all I can each day hoping to retain something for tomorrow. I am ready to grow. Here I am a child....
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Training at Stanford
Brian Riefler
2012-09-07
Let’s say the world is a village of 100. What do we see? There are differences in ethnicity—57 Asians, 21 Europeans, 14 Americans (North and South), 8 Africans—gender—52 females, 48 males—religion—30 Christians, 70 non-Christians—language—66 multilingual speakers (not one of whom is American)—sexuality—89 heterosexuals, 11 homosexuals—income—6 have 59% of the world’s wealth (all from the U.S.), 80 live in substandard housing, 50 are malnourished—and...
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Faith even before Training
Chinyere Aniagoh
2012-09-07
Its been a true experience, starting from being locked out of the house hours before my flight leaving Atlanta for San Francisco. Then, missing my first flight, and now flying standby. As I approached security I tried to keep together at least until I was out of the sight of my mother and little sister who were now completely in...
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Symbols and Perception
Peyton Foley
2012-09-07
Symbols are good at filling the mind and preventing an open flow of perception. The most powerful ones nestle deep in my head and distort the way I experience the world. Home is a very powerful symbol. It is subjective but I feel forced to adapt or to struggle with the concept and how it makes me feel. I...
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Finally Here
Gabe Jackman
2012-09-07
I landed in Quito after a full day of travel today. I did not even attempt to go to sleep last night, since the bus was leaving at 3:15 and I had to pack and weigh my bags. Fall training at Stanford was amazing and I had a spectacular time getting to know the other...
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List of Firsts
Lydia Collins
2012-09-07
In the days leading up to my departure from home, I kept catching myself adding to a mental list of “lasts.” As I walked my dog around the block I would think about how this is the last time I will be doing that exact activity for the next eight months. My last time eating homemade granola, buying...
Read MoreThe Beginning of a Journey
Gabe Jackman
2012-09-02
I landed in Quito after a full day of travel today. I did not even attempt to go to sleep last night, since the bus was leaving at 3:15 and I had to pack and weigh my bags. Fall training at Stanford was amazing and I had a spectacular time getting to know the other...
Read More