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 Ahead
Lydia Collins
2012-07-10
The first thing I remember was the graffiti. Stucco buildings had drawings and words scrawled across their whitewashed walls. Stray dogs sulked past windows with metal grates, scavenging for dinner. The arid air was thick with cigarette fumes and exhaust from passing mopeds. Strangely dressed teenagers passed around suspicious looking bottles, laughing and smoking. I...
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Life’s Highway
Jennifer Ostrowski
2012-07-10
As a child, I became very well acquainted with the 242 miles of Wisconsin highway stretching between my grandparents’ house and my own. For as long as I can remember, my brother and I would count down the miles to Grandma’s molasses cookies and Grandpa’s homegrown vegetables from the back seat of our Dodge Caravan....
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My Unconventional Path
Fikrte Abebe
2012-07-10
My name is Fikrte Abebe, I am from Ethiopia and came to the United States at the age of eight. One of the main reasons my parents wanted to move to the United States was because they wanted a better educational opportunity for their children. Therefore, taking a year off school was out of the...
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Something New
Daniel Schwarz
2012-07-10
Hello all. My name is Daniel Schwarz, born and raised in the Philadelphia area. I got my primary education in a town called Havertown. I went to Oakmont Elementary, which is sadly no longer a school today. I then attended Haverford Middle School. My next and last institution was Haverford Senior High School; this is...
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Community
Sammy Gachagua
2012-07-10
I am Samuel Gachagua and I hail from Kenya! I arrived in the US three years ago from a small orphanage in Nyeri, Kenya. Exactly ten years ago, I was living in the streets of Kenya without food, shelter or anyone to take care of me. One thing that has kept me sane, breathing and...
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A License-less Monolingual
John Villanueva
2012-07-10
Two things: I’m not bilingual and I can’t drive. With full Filipino blood running through me, many find it surprising that I can’t speak my ethnic language of Tagalog, or at the very least understand it. It surprises me too, honestly, and I am full of pent up discontent when Filipino TV shows, potential friends,...
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Opportunity
Josh Thompson
2012-07-10
Hi. My name is Josh Thompson. During my freshman year of High School I traveled to Nicaragua on a week long “missions trip” with my church. While I am not certain about the impact of the trip (there are legitimate concerns about the efficacy and wisdom of short term missions), I was definitely enlightened by...
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And My Journey Begins
Carrie Hamilton
2012-07-10
I have fallen in love with travel many times. It happened as I drove with my family through the Midwest of the US, mesmerized by the golden hues that colored the plains like acrylics on a canvas. It happened as I watched flamenco dancers in Madrid, twisting and turning in the same way that pieces...
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Branching Out of the Books
Sarah McMillan
2012-07-10
In my experience, branching out of the books helps me understand academics more. My freshman year in high school, my grades were atrocious. We’re talking failing math and German—atrocious. If you’d asked me then, I would’ve said it was because the teacher was too tough or I wasn’t smart enough but the truth is, my...
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A Fortuitous Accident
Emily Power
2012-07-10
It was a fortuitous accident that I ever heard of Global Citizen Year. On Facebook, someone was telling my friend about the program and how she should apply. I already knew that I wanted to take a gap year, and all I needed was the perfect program to do so. I clicked the link and...
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A Whole New Style
Jackie Brown
2012-07-10
I just received my packing list for next year: no sleeveless shirts, no shorts, one towel. If the people in Ecuador saw how I am dressed today they would consider me rude and disrespectful. I am in my usual attire of a pair of athletic shorts and a t-shirt but soon I will be saying...
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Why? Why Not!
Betty Gebre
2012-07-10
“Why would you want to waste a year of your life?” is a response I often get when I present the fact that I will be taking a gap year. For a while I did not understand why people were not open to the idea that a teenager would actually be eager to take a...
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