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
Preparing To Leave And The Goodbyes That Come With
Carly Nolan
2019-08-29
There’s been a lot of tears shed in the days leading up to my flight to San Francisco for global launch. Saying goodbye for now to my friends proved to be way more difficult than anticipated and they just got harder as my departure grew closer. Knowing my family was coming up to...
Read MoreA First Step Into Immigration
Lara Solis
2019-08-29
IMG-20190824-WA0015.jpg I flew for the first time today That isn’t 100% true. I got on an airplane for the first time when I was 1 year old. Then again when I was 16, but that was only for 30 minutes so it doesn't count. So today, at 18, I flew alone for the first time....
Read MoreSHE CAME, SHE SAW, SHE TOOK A GAP YEAR
Lily Turner
2019-08-28
I never thought I would be here a year ago. Or even six months ago for that matter. Global Citizen Year kind of fell into my lap, like an apple from a tree, something purely coincidental but exactly what one needs at the time. At least, that’s what it felt like to me. ...
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For Anyone Still Reading
Khalil Laltoo
2019-08-19
Watch this first: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DtR9_xxVAdQ&feature=youtu.be My host mom recently sent me this video from my last night in India. In it, I am dressed in a kurta, standing on stage in front of many host families, reciting a poem in Hindi titled “Ode to Dal Rice”. My feet are bare, my skin is dark, and there...
Read MoreAt Home Rituals and Practices
Alyssa Shteyn
2019-06-02
While in India, I lived with a spiritual counselor for the Hare Krishna community. My host mom maintained a high senior status within the Pune ISKCON temple, as she was one of the first devotees in the city and helped erect the first Hare Krishna temple in Pune. She is well known throughout Pune and...
Read MoreThe Lessons I’ve Learned
Andrew Chen
2019-05-31
Hey guys! Today will probably be my last blog. I wanted to talk about some of the lessons I’ve learned from my gap year, whether I learned them from experiencing Indian society; meeting people from other walks of life; or simply from having time to reflect on my life – a basic luxury I often...
Read MoreKYA BAAT HAI
Jemina Auge
2019-05-31
From my journal, 10 February As I made my way from a taxing day of disciplining undisciplined ten year olds, I was tired and a tinge frustrated. My mind wandered back to Ayush relentlessly using his pencils and desk as a drum set, to Nupur proudly applying glue in her braids the same...
Read MoreVEGETABLE MARKET
Jemina Auge
2019-05-31
From my journal, 18 January Wednesday nights on Sinhagad always mean one thing: सब्जी बाजार [sabzi bazaar – vegetable market] On this midweek evening, once the sun surrenders its dry heat to cooler, more tolerable temperatures, a parking lot abandoned during the daytime begins to buzz with activity. Under large tents and bright neon lights,...
Read MoreBONDING OVER CHAPATI, part 1
Jemina Auge
2019-05-31
From my journal, 15 November For the entirety of the first month with my host family, the kitchen was a ‘do not enter’ zone. In this space where chai was always brewing and rice was always steaming and vegetables were always frying, my host mom set the rules – and apparently, one such (unofficial)...
Read MoreTRUST ISSUES
Jemina Auge
2019-05-31
From my journal, 25 September I instantly heard the footsteps behind me pick up their pace, the pitter-patter of feet becoming quicker and louder. “Keep on walking”, I thought to myself, hoping to fight off the habitual feelings of discomfort and weariness from settling in. These efforts, however, were in vain: only a few...
Read MoreIndia Photo Blog
Alyssa Shteyn
2019-05-30
Roti, sabji, daal, chawal, papad, yogurt. A cultural fusion that I am most certainly here for Vrinda-devi, the goddess of Vrindavan, was carved from the same marble as the deities at the main ISKCON temple in Pune. She was gifted to my host mother to be cared for because the temple already had several deities....
Read MoreMG Road, One Last Time
Alyssa Shteyn
2019-05-30
MG road was one of the first places we visited as a cohort during our first week in India. It took me a long time to realize my host family’s proximity to MG road, but when I did, I came back often. And I returned today, which will most likely be the last time I...
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