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
5 things Kichwa has taught me about Indigenous Culture
Maya Wilcox
2017-11-02
Ecuador has three different regions: the coast, the sierra, and the Amazon. I live in the Sierra, as do all GCY fellows, and one of the most wonderful and unique aspects of the Sierra is that all the indigenous people here speak some dialect of Kichwa. As most of you know, I’m pretty fluent...
Read MoreWhat an inspiring month!
Maria Lanza Arancibia
2017-10-30
It´s been one month of living in this country and I am still not over how much beauty there is around me, it´s quite exciting to think that there is still so much more to see and explore. I have proposed myself to do something related to video every month and this is my September...
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In-between
Leandra Pedretti
2017-10-30
Before my time in Ecuador, when it still felt hypothetical and distant, I was entirely convinced that this bridge year would be one inspirational story after another heartwarming encounter-on repeat. One after the other, all day, every day. A factory line of heartfelt anecdotes and life lessons. Every success would be insightful and significant, every...
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Snip Snip*
Danny DeBare
2017-10-29
My hair was a hot mess, and everyone knew it. I took too much time in the morning attempting to mat down this uncontrollable nest. And by 10am, it looked like your aunt who always greets you with a head scratch had a field day. I decided something had to be done. But the...
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TOP 10 THINGS UNIQUE TO MY LIFE IN ECUADOR
JuliaGrace Walker
2017-10-28
1. The School Bell The school bell here is like a bomb siren from a WWII movie. Every 40 minutes, the deafening alarm wails across campus from numerous megaphones. The siren is not for the students. The teachers leave and rotate to their next classroom. All students stay in the same room. The class erupts...
Read MoreSeven Steps to Live Through Death
Marli Anglim
2017-10-24
About a week into living with my permanent host family, a close member of their family passed away. This understandably disturbed every member of the family, and completely altered what I expected out of my adjustment to their home. I decided to post a blog about this topic because this has been a large part...
Read MoreThis week, I survived
Elizabeth Ollila
2017-10-23
Global Citizen Year constantly talks about the concepts of thriving and surviving, and how the goal is to thrive this year (with some times of surviving intermixed). In order to give you all a full view of my year abroad, it is only fair that I include some surviving intermixed with the thriving. This week,...
Read MoreToday’s lesson: Machismo. Take notes, boys.
Layla Solatan
2017-10-22
With respectful, friendly students and teachers, my first day of my apprenticeship was pleasant and running smoothly. It wasn’t until el inspector came into one of the classes I was helping with to call out of couple of boys for their hair length. Their hair was nothing you’d call “girly”—simply too long for the school’s...
Read MoreTrip from Quito to the South
Shauni Lustig
2017-10-22
This is a video I made showing our time in Quito until our arrival in the South. [vc_video link=’https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=nQm8RK6yRSw ‘]
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Así Es La Vida
Henry Yeary
2017-10-22
October is cruising to a close, and having lived in Ecuador for over a month now, I can confidently say that each day has come with its own unexpected package of lessons, hardships, smiles, and mysteries; but more importantly, each day I’m starting to feel more and more at home. I currently reside in the...
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Disfrutando Ecuatime
Marli Anglim
2017-10-18
Living in the county of Ecuatime, everything moves at a slower pace than back home. Because of this, I have been blessed with time to reflect on where I am. This has allowed me to take in this beautiful rural town the only way I know how, by drawing it. Below is the first...
Read MoreA dream you dream alone is only a dream. A dream you dream together is a reality.
Yesenia Martinez
2017-10-18
It's been 52 days since I left Chapel Hill, NC. I've spent 37 of those days in the beautiful country of Ecuador. It's only been a little over a month, yet I feel like I've known this place, specifically Cañar, for ages. The town I live in is small, and we are encircled by majestic...
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