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
First week in India!
Holly Jacobson
2016-09-04
Hello everyone! Welcome to my first blog post from INDIA! I’ve only been here for nine days, but it honestly feels infinitely longer than that. I’ll start this blog from the day we left Stanford University at 4:45 AM. We all gathered together, clumps of bags piling up in the corners, breakfast bags grabbed, busses...
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Just a Boy and his Magic Beans
Isaiah Lewis
2016-08-30
I’ve just wrapped up my second day of In Country Orientation (ICO) at the Asia Plateau. The morning sun shines through the clouds with the deceptive brightness of an eclipse. Clouds fill the sky yet they seem to only magnify the suns rays. I’ve already managed to terrify my team leaders with my odd diet...
Read MoreWhat I Gained from Pre-Departure Training
Stephen Yu
2016-08-30
I’m not sure of what I originally anticipated learning during pre-departure training. I came into it a little blind and very, very hopeful. What I did know, though, was my past self. I was quiet and shied away from people I didn't know well. I never tried to start any conversations, and I definitely wouldn't...
Read MoreCollege Can Wait, India Cannot
Holly Jacobson
2016-08-30
Hello friends, family, and other amazing beings about to read my very first blog post! This first entry is coming from sunny Stanford University in Palo Alto California. I have to be frank, I really wasn’t sure what to write down for this entry, or how to compose my thoughts into words from this week....
Read MoreOld School
Agustina Romero
2016-08-29
You probably expect something about India being cool, but since nothing has yet changed I decided to go old school Let me explain to some of you why this is not something new: this is what me and Rosalie used to do, but now I’m alone so forgive me if sometimes I don’t...
Read MoreWhy Take a Bridge Year?
Lucky Whitburn-Thomas
2016-08-29
Yesterday I was asked, “Why did you choose to take a bridge year with Global Citizen Year?” by the co-founder and president of Kiva, Primal Shah, while walking with him back to lunch. Panicked by this curve ball of a question, where Mr. Shah became the listener, and I the speaker, while I was in...
Read MoreThe World is in Front of Me.
Isaiah Lewis
2016-08-29
Panchgani, Asia Plateau Mahashrata, India I’m sitting, feet propped up on the ledge of a sixth floor balcony, looking out across the exotic flora. I guess It’s not that exotic though, in this land I’m the only exotic thing. The dense foliage from which a constant stream of tropical noises erupts: the chirping of colorful...
Read MoreBlog #1
Alejandro Flores Monge
2016-08-29
They say home is where the heart is. I had a home. I thought of myself as a very empathetic person. I thought I was one to quickly love, to welcome strangers to my heart with open arms. I was half right. I’ve learned that I do hold a great capacity for empathy, and though...
Read MoreMoving Quickly, Going Nowhere
Kyle Bertram
2016-08-28
Highschool, school for that matter, has felt like a never ending track race. Every year I seemed to hit the reset button and just start a new lap. Even though I would go around the track, I always seemed to end up in the exact same spot that I started in. I would have learned...
Read MoreA sleep-deprived reflection on Pre-Departure Training
Sebastian Paine
2016-08-27
I've taken three naps in the past couple of hours, but something keeps throwing me from my dreams and back into this cramped airplane seat. I'm not sure if this "cramped-ness" is purely physical, or a product of the fact that I am welling up with excitement, bursting at the seams with anticipation, and overflowing...
Read MoreUndoubtedly
Emma Sexton
2016-08-26
When I chose this path, I stepped into a new role and accepted new responsibilities. Now, it’s my turn to take a step away from all that I know and into everything I don’t. I’m stepping back from this life I’m living in order to make it my own. It’s my duty to listen...
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B4
Kayla Sherald
2016-08-08
With a loud BANG I momentarily left my petrified Shih Tzu who I’d recently assumed had a phobia of loud noises to the point where she’d run down the steps to our front door. I quickly ran, like an overly hyper child and entered my balcony upon which I was immediately greeted by the colorful burst of another firecracker...
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