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
Transitioning
Jeremy Chan
2018-10-03
Upon arriving at Ibarra, I felt like we were so privileged. We stayed a very fancy hotel with a nice buffet breakfast and many facilities. The rooms were cleaned every single day and I truly believed I was on vacation. We did all the touristy things such as going to the famous ice cream places,...
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"Poco a Poco"
Maya Foster
2018-10-03
Poco a poco, little by little, bit by bit. “Poco a poco” has been my favorite phrase recently. It is so simple in both English and Spanish, but I find that is the answer to most of the questions I’m asked right now: *How are you adjusting? How’s the language acquisition been? Do you feel...
Read MoreIn the "Honey Moon" Stage
Katarina Guillot
2018-10-02
I am in love with the way the sun peeks out behind a tall daisy covered green mountain behind my house at 5:47 am every morning. I am in love with the sound of the dog’s paws running on the roof above my bedroom around 6 am as if they were about to begin a...
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Feeling 18 and Ecuador
Jasmine Johnson
2018-10-01
[image: IMG_3260-3.jpg] Today I did something pretty stupid. Back home in Singapore, I love nothing better than riding my bike. Going out without a helmet (I do not recommend) onto the streets blasting my music, knowing every path and alleyway. Through the nights and into the mornings, I would cycle my thoughts away and watch...
Read MoreGetting Grounded.
Dena Muething
2018-09-30
I’ve officially been in Ecuador for a whole month and it’s been full of lots of crying, lots of laughter, lots of connections, and a lot of unknowns. Sunday, August 26th, everyone arrived at Stanford University in California as we begun preparation for our next year in country. The first week at Stanford was full...
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30 days in Senegal
Nisha Gharti Magar
2018-09-30
Its been a month since I got in Senegal. I live with a host family of 8 in a small town called Khombole. When we moved in with our host families we all got a senegales name and I don’t know why that is but I am called Mamdaba Fall Ndiaye. I am named after...
Read MorePublish
Jacqueline Oeschger
2018-09-29
In Whom I Find Home I have never truly called a place home. As I’ve gotten older I have found that “home” for me is less of a location and more people. There is always this ridiculous sign in overly patriotic Army households: along with the Polish Pottery, Bier Steins, and American flag decorated bathrooms...
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Cafecito
Natalia Rijo
2018-09-28
Yesterday after being called by my host mom to drink el “Cafecito”, which will be a coffee with some bread during the afternoon, we started peeling zambo seeds together ( a salty watermelon), while I talked about the limited vegetarian Uruguayan food and she let me see that we share many ingredients but different ways...
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Stories (and Lessons) from My First Few Weeks in Ecuador!
Jeffrey Fishman
2018-09-27
I can’t believe that it has been about a month since I have left the United States to spend a year in Ecuador, living with a host family, learning Spanish, and working with a local organization in my new community. After leaving Pennsylvania, I spent a week at Stanford University in Palo Alto, California, for...
Read MoreMaking the Case for a Global Citizen Year
Bihotza James-Lejarcegui
2018-09-26
I don’t remember exactly how I heard about the idea of taking a gap year, but I do remember that once I learned about it, I felt a sincere need to do it. I grew up in an international household, speaking multiple languages and having family in various parts of the world that granted me...
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Where In The World Am I
Maddy Gibson
2018-09-26
About a month ago, I moved half a world away. 1400(+) miles from everyone and everything I know. The transition from life in McMinnville, Oregon to life in Urcuqui, Imbabura has been challenging to navigate. Some moments, I feel like I’m living in a dream state. That this world I’m living in is nothing but...
Read MoreEcuapace
Sophie Meltzer
2018-09-26
It is impossible to imagine how your life will change before it actually does. You throw yourself in, full of ideas and images of a world beyond your own, yet devoid of actual knowledge of what exists. Before the jump, changing everything seems purely adventurous — even glamorous. Yet, I have found that the landing...
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