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
Gratitude
Jovana Jovanovska
2019-05-15
*This is something I wrote about my experience in Senegal and I would want to share it with you. I hope you enjoy it and I would be more than glad to answer any questions you have. Keep in mind that this is just a single story of my experience in Senegal and that it...
Read MoreMANU, OR MANUEL, NOT MANNY.
Manuel Quesada Nylen
2019-05-13
I had planned on doing a formal presentation by May 15th for my capstone project but things have not exactly gone underway yet due to unforseen hiccups coming into play last minute, so here is the first half of my informal capstone presentation. Chronologically speaking, this is my second half. The first half was a...
Read MoreViviendo el momento en paz
Ndenda Mutsaku
2019-05-09
Español Que sucede cuando pones a una latina que le encanta estar bailando y moviéndose en un país donde la gente se sienta en silencio por 2 horas. Una latina que siempre quiere solo concentrarse y termina el trabajo para después poder hacer lo que quiera y no tener que preocuparse por ello, que la...
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Returning Home
Alexander Taylor
2019-05-06
[image: Senegalese Outfit.jpg] Note: Keep in mind I can only speak from my own experience. However, I would like to make a blog post that would really challenge the “single story” that has perpetuated when describing Senegal and the continent it resides in. Before embarking on my journey, the founder of Global Citizen Year, Abby...
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The struggles of coming back
Aissatou Tagaty Badio
2019-05-06
It’s funny to see that, when we first arrived in our sites in-country, we were crying because we didn’t want to stay. We all cried at the end because we didn’t want to leave. Now I’m back home and everything feels surreal. I used to find comfort in rooftops. I spent 8 months on rooftops...
Read MoreWhat Have You Learned?
London Samson
2019-05-06
Just a small section from my answer to the question “What have you learned this year?” “…So much. I’ve learned that while I am an outgoing and outspoken person I desperately need my alone time in order to stay mentally healthy. I’ve learned that no matter the situation I always try to see the best...
Read MoreReflection about Yaye Fatou Dieng
Paula Medina
2019-04-29
*29 de Abril de 2019* El día que llegué a mi casa senegalesa, me dijo mi Yaay que a partir de ese momento, yo me llamaría Yaye Fatou. Mi apellido sería Dieng, porque así se apellidaba mi nueva familia senegalesa. Yaye Fatou Dieng. Y yo, que probablemente no entendí ni una tercera parte de lo...
Read More“You’re so young, yet so brave”
Jovana Jovanovska
2019-04-27
*”The thing about goodbyes , you see – is the beautiful medley of a sense of loss and self-discovery, all at once.”* I’ve learned how to take care of myself. Sometimes more, sometimes less, but at the end of the day, I manage to do so. I like being there for myself, being that stable...
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From the Depths of Darou Khoudoss
Alexander Taylor
2019-04-26
*Reviewing a piece I wrote during my first two months in Senegal:* It is barely sunrise on a Sunday, but I still get up to confirm my suspicion. I leave my room and enter the rugged sandy paths of Darou Khoudass, passing by the goats, pigs, and chickens, some of which are still asleep. I...
Read MoreAre you taking a gap year?
Salome-Valdivieso
2019-04-20
For everyone thinking about taking a gap year in a foreign country: If you are taking a gap year make sure your baggage is full of expectations. So then you can break them along with all prejudices built by single stories. Only then you will start being surprised rather than only expecting. A gap year...
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thoughts before i said goodbye
Sophia Youngdahl
2019-04-18
From my journal, 23 March 2019… when goodbye was still a fleeting idea I cannot define what force holds me here What roots I have somehow discovered Curling their way upwards to the sunlight Seemingly carved into existence By red clay And ancient hands, A face with crinkles when she smiles and the belt of...
Read MoreManifest about ants and heroes
Paula Medina
2019-04-16
*February 17th 2019* “If any of you, students, are curious for a while, go and observe the ants in their daily routine, you will see that they all follow a perfect line. Everyone marches following the one in front of them, without deviating from the norm, without trying to jump the queue, without following a...
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