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
la cuchara más grande del mundo / the biggest wooden spoon in the world
Annika Kapp
2019-09-29
When we embark on a new adventure, there are stories we expect to be telling. How we tried new food for the first time maybe, or how we got lost with public transportation. And then there are stories that are so weird that we could have never imagined them to happen. This is...
Read MoreLiving the Stories
Abigail Mann
2019-09-28
Before coming to Ecuador, I had no idea what to expect. That was a terrifying feeling. I wanted to make that feeling disappear as much as possible, so I read as many stories as I could about what previous Global Citizen Year had experienced during their time. I started to get a picture in my...
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The Ecuadorian way of life
Aniska Bitomsky
2019-09-28
Two weeks ago today I arrived at my host family ‘s and a lot has happened since then. I explored the area, started working in the town’s municipality and had my first debrief circle in the warm Yungilla valley. A couple of things have surprised me about Ecuador in these two weeks. (To be honest,...
Read MorePart of me becoming part of them
Yueun Kang
2019-09-25
Today is September 25. It’s been two and a half weeks with my host family. Some part of me is surprised (“wait already!?”), and some part of me is surprised for a completely different reason (“wait only!? I feel like I have known them for much longer!”) (First time I met mi familia) I am...
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The Power of "Sí"
Elise Rockwell
2019-09-24
If I had to sum up all my emotions into one experience since I have been living in Ecuador with my host family, it would be as such: We had finished eating dinner and normally I would say goodnight and head upstairs but I see my host mother putting on a sweater. I assume she...
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A Little Bit Like Home
Amelia Joss
2019-09-22
It’s been exactly two weeks since I arrived at my homestay, and it’s crazy to me how quickly it’s begun to feel a little bit like home. I took a taxi home from Cuenca and was struck by how familiar the lights of Sayausí looked coming up the hill. The soft Spanish music and gentle...
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Oil and Water
Bella Fassett
2019-09-22
A tangle of emotions swirl within me as the plane lifts off the runway of the Atlanta airport. I have flown many times before, but none felt quite like this. As the plane rises, the expansive city comes into full view. My stomach drops, simultaneously with the giddiness of finally commencing my journey and with...
Read MoreSome thoughts about the meaning of home
Aniska Bitomsky
2019-09-21
(See attachments for picture) Day 3 with my host family. I am sitting on my balcony and just came back from Cuenca from my firs language class. On the bus back I was a little overwhelmed by emotions and tried to sort out my thoughts, so far I have come to several realizations: Language is...
Read MoreIt’s All About the Cows
'Los
2019-09-21
It is hard to pack everything that has happened in these last few weeks into one blog post. I mean it has been a pretty eventful time filled with walking my cows, making some incredible friends, and getting E. Coli. So where do I begin? I guess I can talk about the cows. During the...
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Anecdotes from the First Week
Charlie Dickerson
2019-09-19
A little over a week ago, I left the comfort of my fellows and entered the real Ecuadorian world. Bit by bit, our cohorts had been shrinking. Starting as a global cohort of 150, we said our goodbyes after a week at Stanford. After a few days at a monastery in Quito, the Ecuador cohort...
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Small Moments
Sadie Price-Elliott
2019-09-19
Eight years ago, I started collecting small moments. At first, I recorded them on a misshapen heart map in the back corner of my writer's notebook. Then, I started jotting them down on sticky notes until my moments filled mason jars. Now, I take note of these little pockets of time in a beautifully bound...
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Two Weeks In Transition
Sadie Price-Elliott
2019-09-13
Three weeks ago today, I said goodbye to the home that raised me. Two weeks ago, I landed in Ecuador. Now, I am in my new home. Nestled in a vibrant, rural landscape about an hour away from Cuenca, surrounded by crawling clouds and majestic mountains, and slowly but surely finding a new space...
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