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
Baby Soy
Yui Lee
2014-10-28
When I came to Guano, Ecuador a month ago and met my Ecuadorian family for the first time, I was overjoyed to see a baby in my host mother’s arms; the newborn looked so happy, adorable, and chubby. I learned that her name was Soy, she was six months old, and today, she is as...
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Sigue No Más
Samantha Srok
2014-10-23
I literally cannot focus in class because I am so angry. Why would you not have a comprehensive bus schedule easily available online or in places people can read? Why would the same bus I’ve used every day suddenly take me to the Rio Coca station?! Who would make this transportation system so unclear? This...
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Clarifying Chaos
Alcyone Magana
2014-10-23
Two winters, and what seems like a lifetime ago, I read a sentence that went something like this: If you’re in a creative void, stuck, and not making progress, simply stand on top of your chair and observe… this simple shift in perspective will provide clarity and perhaps will bring new ideas to what you’re...
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Lessons Tena Has Taught Me Thus Far
Hadiyah Grubish
2014-10-22
1. It’s hot. Not just “Oh, it’s a little warm out today,” but a real ” I think I might be dying,” type of heat. Think Georgia in the end of July, just before the near daily afternoon thunderstorms where the humidity is at it’s peak, with the mid-day sun multiplied by five, and no...
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The German Immersion Within My Ecuadorian Immersion
Alejandro Sanchez
2014-10-21
How does a German who has never been to the United States and an American who has never been to Germany become good friends? There he was, standing in the corner of the lunch room drinking coffee while waiting for Spanish classes to resume. As I went to serve myself some tea, I heard him...
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Thoughts of a Fellow
Andrew Sinclair
2014-10-21
The thoughts that ran through my head during the start of my application up to where I am today: Go submit your application; this program is what you’re looking for. Look at that, you got in. On the 2nd week of June you graduate, next comes the summer, then Ecuador. Be ready to leave your...
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To my Future Self
Bailey Bullock
2014-10-17
This past week, we were challenged to create and share our vision of our Global Citizen Year. My vision of my future self is as follows: By April, I will have a new place to call home. I will have added six new members to my family and I will have become another sister and...
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A True GAP Year Experience
Isabel Nardi
2014-10-17
It all started with a simple toothache.I had decided this was the universe telling me either I was eating too much food or I was meant to stay with my Quiteño family for a few extra days to solve my issue. I rolled into classes Monday and informed my team leader of my pain asking...
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About Learning
Danielle Morales
2014-10-17
As someone who loves to learn, I have always felt at home in a classroom. Of course, home had its ups and downs. At times, I was comfortable, finishing tests with ease and receiving high grades on papers. Other times, I was challenged. Sometimes it came in the form of a new concept or perspective,...
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Read Some Books!
Jason Child
2014-10-16
This first month has been filled with so many new experiences. Every day is a new exciting day and it makes me that much more excited for tomorrow. This month has not been easy. I have experienced so many joys and so many sorrows. The toughest part of my journey so far has been saying...
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Notes for Ecuador
Eustacia Meyer
2014-10-13
Notes for Ecuador: Don’t let the taxi drivers think that you’re “just another gringo,” we know how much a cab fare should cost. Don’t be afraid to try new things! Want to know how many new types of food I’ve tried? Well so would I! At this point I can’t even remember. (But be careful...
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Mom Things
Aliana Ruxin
2014-10-13
On Sunday afternoon I was playing house with my five-year-old sister and five-year-old cousin. The girls promptly instructed me to be their mom and began to set up an abandoned cement house as our home. I asked what I should do and my cousin replied, “You know, Mom Things. Cook, clean, tend to the cows.”...
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