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
Coincidences
Jack Swartzentruber
2019-03-20
[image: f793543d-319c-4b49-9900-11480ddb6ab2 (1).JPG] Sometimes, life presents us with coincidences and connections that almost seem unbelievable. At the beginning of my time in India, my host mom told me that she was going to take a three-week trip to the United States and Canada, both to see family and for work purposes (she works for an...
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A Day in Hyderabad
Jack Swartzentruber
2019-03-20
A Day in Hyderabad Here’s a quick snapshot of an average day of my life in Hyderabad. 7:00 am Every day I wake up at 7 am to do my morning chores. Usually my job is to walk over to the hibiscus tree nearby to our house and pick the flowers that my family uses...
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An Unforgettable Apprenticeship
Andrew Chen
2019-03-18
Today I’ll be discussing my apprenticeship community, schedule, and environment. Over the past few months, I’ve been working as a teaching assistant with Teach for India at a local government primary school, which serves kids from Jr. KG (equivalent to Pre-K back in the US) to 7th Standard. Upon graduating, students need to find another...
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An Every Day Bus Ride
Elizabeth Farrell
2019-03-18
It’s sometime in the afternoon and it feels like its a million degrees outside because there’s no shade and my only companion is the concrete surrounding me. Eventually, I make it to the bus stop. In my neighbourhood, choosing a bus stop isn’t very difficult. All I need to know is which direction I’m headed...
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Khalil Laltoo
2019-03-18
Travel with me and Faith as we explore some of the most historic and beautiful places in North India! Link to vlog: https://youtu.be/tu2qL16eLbc
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Helping My School Through Art!
Leonie Tollefson
2019-03-16
As part of my Global Citizen Year program, I’m required to complete an end of year project in my community here in India. I chose to do something in my school community, as that’s been the most impactful part of the year for me and I wanted to give back any way I can. Initially...
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Truly Family
Andrew Chen
2019-03-15
Today I’ll share a little about another large part of my experience here: my host family. Over the past few months, I’ve been living with my host dad Dilip, host mom Dipti, host grandfather Prakash, host grandmother Kalyani, and host brother Kabir (who’s 10 years old) in a flat in Bavdhan, a western suburb of...
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Pani Puri
Emiliana Reinoso
2019-03-14
Pani Puri is one of my favorite Indian snacks. Its main components are Pani (water – sweet and salty -) and Puri (a very thin and crispy fried dough). Chickpeas, tomato, onion, parsley and crunchy are added to this. Pani Puri is an ideal snack to share with family and friends, although if you had...
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Full Circle: The Journey to Farukahbad
Khalil Laltoo
2019-03-13
It was about 10:30 am, and we had just wrapped up our visit to the Taj Mahal. We exited from the south gate onto a street of noisy vendors who beckoned us into their shops, waving magnets and snow globes and other Taj paraphernalia. We wandered the streets looking for a quiet and moderately priced...
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I Am Connected
Jaime Givens
2019-03-12
[image: image.png] *Courtesy of Tisch College* One of the biggest worries that I had coming into this year abroad in Hyderabad, India was not making connections to the people around me. For one, I couldn’t speak Hindi or Telugu (the state language of Telangana). I stuck out like a sore-thumb due to my big, curly...
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A Spiritual Journey in Rsihikesh
Leonie Tollefson
2019-03-12
To have all my bases covered, after returning from Goa I flew to the north to head to the yoga capital of the world, otherwise known as Rishikesh. It lays at the base of the Himalayas, and the holy Ganga river flows right through the city. I stayed up there for about a week at...
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The Best Cohort I Could’ve Asked For
Andrew Chen
2019-03-10
Hey there! Long time no see 🙂 About 6 months ago, I left Seattle knowing little of the journey ahead of me. Sitting here now, with those 6 months having brought truly countless new memories and experiences, I finally feel like I have a grasp of the lessons and takeaways I’ll be leaving India with....
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