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
Through the Eyes of a Stranger
Erin Lang
2010-10-08
After returning from downtown Dakar with two other Fellows, I felt a bit overwhelmed by what I had seen. I looked at the clock. It was one thirty. I had to get a project done for class at three. Assuming that the project would take little time, I picked up my bag, my brown leather...
Read MoreI Wonder…
Kedisha Samuels
2010-10-06
Even with a set definition the question can still be asked, what does it mean to be content? What does it mean to be satisfied with what you have and the position you play in life? I often find myself brooding over these questions and the truth is the answer will defer for everyone. I...
Read MoreFirst Culture Shock
Emily Hess
2010-10-06
“It’s good, it’s good,” I keep telling my host mother in French. I really don’t know what else to say. Literally; I can’t actually say much else than that. But I’m learning. Not to sound cliché, and I really tried to look for another way to put this, but these last few days have been, dare...
Read MoreI’ve Bought In
Madeleine Balchan
2010-10-04
“So what is the US Training Institute?” Over the summer as friends asked me to explain GCY’s plan for these two weeks in San Francisco, I gave vague answers like “team building” or “understanding GCY as an organization and their goals”. My guesses adequately described the first few days. They came short of articulating the...
Read MoreComplimentary Contradictions
Naomi Wright
2010-10-04
Even at nine in the morning it’s 75°C, so I welcomed the realization that the shower’s “hot” knob didn’t mean there was hot water. Nevertheless, its coldness shocked me when I raised the nozzle to my face. I breathed in, sharply. For whatever reason, it was in that moment that I understood what fifteen hours...
Read MoreNanga def? Maangi fi rekk! (Some spellcheck unavailable)
Gus Ruchman
2010-10-04
Humidity greeted us before Anta did. Stepping onto the tarmac of Leopold Senghor Airport was exhilarating and liberating after what seemed like months in anxious transit in our sealed cabin of South African Air flight 914 en route to Johannesburg. However, we understood immediately that we were strangers in a strange land as airport officials...
Read MoreA Simple Start
Tess Langan
2010-10-03
Growing up I had a purple bedroom and my own closet and toy chest. I had a book shelf and a duvet cover and a sally the camel toy that got to sleep snuggled with me. In New York City when I went to visit my grandmother, the streets were dotted with the homeless. Grammy...
Read More“When idea and fate meet…”
Gus Ruchman
2010-10-01
John Wood is a confident presence, a role model for public speaking seminars. His dogged conviction and meticulous work ethic have allowed him to transform Room to Read, the non-profit NGO he started after leaving Microsoft, from a simple educational idea into a wildly successful global organization with a budget of tens of millions of...
Read MoreYou don’t have to go Africa to find Inequality
Madeleine Balchan
2010-10-01
I noticed his big toes sticking out of his well-worn shoes. I didn’t ask his name. I was already talking with Eddy, who had a story of his own. Eddy lives with his brother who has HIV. His sister is somehow supporting 10 children, some with child support and some with governmental aid. He recently...
Read MoreI Hope I Prove You Right
Emily Hess
2010-10-01
As I sit in my nearly completely packed up room at IONS, I’m mulling over these past two weeks and wondering to myself what has come over it. I was so afraid upon arrival that I’d be too shy and too withdrawn to enjoy my time here as much as I should. And for a...
Read MoreThis One Goes to 5-3
Erin Lang
2010-10-01
To Room 5-3 and Mrs. Jackson (2009-2010) I want to let you in on a secret. Perfection is not possible. Age is not always an accurate measure of potential or inner strength. And sometimes, failure IS the only option in becoming stronger. For a year, I worked under Mrs. Jackson as your Student Teacher. Although...
Read MorePerfect Stranger
Naomi Wright
2010-09-29
Having been challenged to find the story of one of the estimated 15,000 people living on the streets of San Francisco as part of “Five Dollar Day,” I chose to sit down next to James. When I saw him hunched against a scraggly tree on the corner of Seventh and Market Street the only things...
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