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
My apprenticeship
Gijs Smid
2017-11-20
[Nederlands onderaan] Four times a week – Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday – I walk from my house at 7:55 towards the center of the town to start my work in the city hall. I usually walk into an empty office in which I start setting up my little desk with laptop and other necessities....
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This is Messy
Joseph Hansen
2017-11-19
I take a deep breath, putting one foot in front of the other I open my mouth only to exploit the mild embarrassment my friend has over her plans to attend Yale next year. I look around and to my right see this mist covering a dense jungle, to my...
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The Technology Conundrum
Danny DeBare
2017-11-19
A normal greeting in the States goes something like this: “Hey! So nice to see you, thanks for inviting me over.” “It’s my pleasure! Come on in.” “Great…What’s the Wi-Fi password?” Does that sound familiar? Ok, it may not be verbatim, but you get the point. I didn’t realize the extent...
Read MoreIntegration vs. Assimilation
Shukura Babirye
2017-11-18
Global Citizen Year emphasises the idea that we need to integrate to our communities to feel like we have fulfilled this 8 month programme. However, what does that really mean? Integration is defined as enhancing the community that you are in due to the adaptation of both parties in forming a new and improved social...
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“We give skills, not things.”
Sadie Troup
2017-11-18
A lot has been happening lately. For one, I received a full-tuition scholarship to college! I’m starting off with that because it has led me to one of the coolest experiences of my time thus far: working with bees! So to explain to you how a beca (scholarship) got me to working with bees today,...
Read MoreEcuador Unplugged #1: Surviving Salmonella
Marissa Emerson
2017-11-17
“Ecuador Unplugged” is a blog-series aimed to recount experiences in Ecuador in an honest, (hopefully) humorous manner in a format non-traditional for my style of blog posts and more reminiscent of journal entries. Common courtesies of omitting graphic details, sugar-coating, and proper grammar/sentence structure will not necessarily be followed in this series; proceed at your...
Read MoreSettling In
Callista Helms
2017-11-15
Two months ago I was given a piece of paper that would dictate my next seven months in Ecuador. It had my permanent host family, the town I would be living in and what my apprenticeship would be. We didn’t get to choose where we were placed or what our jobs would be. I was...
Read MoreRegrets and Finding Yourself
Jamie Constantine
2017-11-15
Not Rocking the Boat or Staying True to Yourself? “We’ve all heard those horror stories. The one where the fellow is completely outcasted from their family and community based on their answer to a single question. “Oh, the past fellow in this one placement was talked about by the whole town and was never...
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The excitement is wearing off
Elizabeth Ollila
2017-11-11
The excitement is wearing off, and Ecuador has become my new normal. I am no longer new at work, I have begun to get annoyed at my family here (just like you do with your family:)), I know our routine, bus rides to class are less scary (although I doubt I will ever be fully...
Read MoreThoughts on “To Hell With Good Intentions” by Ivan Illich
Phuong Nguyen
2017-11-10
In response to Ivan Illich’s address to CIASP in 1968, titled “To Hell with Good Intentions," a speech made to a group of volunteers about to embark on a service trip to Mexico. He basically tells them they are not wanted, that they are insulting the host country they are trying to help, and could...
Read More9-5
Alexandra Moreno
2017-11-10
I also made this video for closing seminar. This is what my job consisted of before we got electricity. Enjoy https://drive.google.com/open?id=0Byqk5Jq6dVlXSGtDWFVOTXdyU28
Read MoreFamily Matters
Alexandra Moreno
2017-11-10
I made this video a while back for closing seminar. I didn’t really see the value in sharing it back then but the more I think about it, it can’t hurt to show you a little preview of what my life looks like. Enjoy [vc_video link=’https://youtu.be/NJ_zGnQvS94′]
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