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
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...
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A Little on the Why
Hannah Bouline
2012-08-26
Global Citizen Year. Why am I doing it? I’ve been posed the question a hundred and one times and each answer seems to come out a bit differently. Buzz phrases such as “a great experience” and “gaining perspective” and “reenergizing myself” pop in frequently. Each time I jumble the words around and spit them back...
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Adventure Is Out There
Sam Reeve
2012-08-21
My name is Sam Reeve, and I am ready. I’m ready to embark on the journey of a lifetime; ready to live in and explore the culture of a completely different community; ready to leave my small Southern community with memories, friends, and supporters behind me; ready to see the Amazon; ready to try some...
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An Unlikely Thank You
Danielle Livneh
2012-08-13
I never thought I’d see the day where I was grateful for being rejected from my top school. Six months ago if you had told me that I would eventually feel this way, I probably would have said you were crazy with that impressive cynicism only we teenagers are capable of. But here I stand,...
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My Trip to Brazil
Jordan Lee
2012-08-08
Hello everyone, As the date of my departure gets closer, I continue working through the seemingly never-ending to-do list that accompanies a year-long trip to Ecuador. But about 2 weeks ago, my preparation was interrupted by a visit to another South American country: Brazil. Almost every year, my church sends a group of about 20...
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What To Expect?
Aidan Holloway-Bidwell
2012-08-03
I keep imagining that my upcoming trip to Ecuador will resemble my only other experience in a developing country, my time in Nepal, 2010. I know full well it won’t. Yeah, Ecuadorian and Nepali cuisine share certain staples, like rice and potatoes, and I’ll probably be a couple conspicuous heads taller than my hosts in...
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