Fellow Stories
True gap year stories from Fellows abroad!
Check out the latest blogs from Global Citizen Year Fellows in Brazil, Ecuador, and India!
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Class Year
Country
My first culture shock
Ana Gvozdic
2016-09-22
My first culture shock probably has nothing to do with culture. I’d say it has more to do with what we call the economic class or perhaps the distance from a city. Either way, I will refer to it as a culture shock, as this is a cultural immersion program, and the concept of...
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The start of a new chapter
Benoit Dupras
2016-09-21
For the past few weeks, I’ve been exploring the tourist side of Quito, of Ecuador; people do not expect me to be more than a gringo, a passing white visitor. My past blog posts (actually all of them), have strictly been about my personal experiences. However, Even if I don’t like being seen as a...
Read MorePreDeparture Training 2016
Lily Jorrick
2016-09-20
(All photos courtesy of Jasen Lo) Pre-departure training is an integral part of Global Citizen Year, as it’s the first time that the fellows come together as a global cohort. We spend half of our time in the Redwoods of Northern California, and the other half at Stanford University in Palo Alto. These first eight...
Read MoreArrival of the Birds
Rachel Koltsov
2016-09-20
I have this nagging suspicion that I am meant to live in the mountains. Yesterday I climbed a dormant volcano, called Pichincha. There’s actually a plume of smoke rising from it now, possibly a forest fire. Could also be a cloud. At this elevation, both are possibilities. The air up here in Quito is...
Read MoreChoosing Joy
Maryanne Roughton
2016-09-19
And in the blink of an eye, the two months of preparation had ended, and I found myself waiting for my first flight to Chicago to take off before flying to California. It was the exact moment that the plane started taxiing that I began to panic. How was I supposed to navigate life in...
Read MoreDear future co-teacher Ana
Ana Gvozdic
2016-09-17
Dear future co-teacher Ana, tomorrow you are moving to Cumbe, a small town south of Cuenca (the 3rd largest city in Ecuador). You will co-teach English and help out with the extracurricular activities in a primary school. I am glad you managed to replace the initial disappointment regarding your apprenticeship with true motivation and excitement...
Read MoreNina
Gabriel McCarthy
2016-09-17
Dear Nina, I got the inspiration to write this letter to you whilst sitting with my host family here in Quito. Here in Ecuador, a huge emphasis is placed on family, as in, they see each other every week, always call and check in on eachother etc. you and I throughout the years have lived...
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When Adventure Calls
Noa Bridson
2016-09-17
Here I am sitting in a complete foreign city, crunched in a ball because of "traveler's stomach", feeling lost in culture I don't know and stifled by a language I can't speak. Yet if you asked me how I feel I would answer without hesitation "happier than ever!!" You see adventure isn't comfortable, it isn't...
Read MoreGoing with no expectations
Amma Thomas
2016-09-16
I signed up for Global Citizen Year after my plans for college didn't go as I expected. I applied after the deadline therefore I didn't really expect this to pan out, I was delighted to find out that I had been admitted and would be a 2017 Ecuador fellow. To help pay for the program...
Read MorePeaks and Valleys (literally)
Aden Fischer-Brown
2016-09-15
Almost exactly one month ago, I welcomed you to this blog with a short, informational, and gif-filled post. I now sit on my bed in an apartment in Quito, trying to reflect on the past 33 days while the evening news blares from the TV in my host mother’s room and my family’s two perritas,...
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Routine of It
Amelia Wohlers
2016-09-13
I come from an urban environment, but as a city, San Francisco seems to pale in comparison to Quito. At home, you could drop me on any street and I could figure out where I was. With only 49 square miles and 18 years to learn them, my small city seemed to grow exponentially smaller...
Read MoreHiking Pichincha
Phoebe Park
2016-09-11
Peering up at the relentless slopes that stretched on for what seemed like eternity, I didn't think I could finish the hike. Yet I did, or at least our group of six made it all the way to the base of the last slope that led all the way up to the volcano. The view...
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