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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A quick note about natural hair/ hablemos de cabello
Ndenda Mutsaku
2019-01-14
English then Spanish Ingles despues español I had never though that wanting to wear my natural hair would be an every day battle. There is not a single day I’m not asked When are you going to braid your hair? Why you don’t braid it?. I had heard multiple time “it looks ugly like that”,...
Read MoreDe una familia de 3 a una de 9 o 11 no 13 en realidad 16 / From a family of 3 to a family of 9… 11 …13, actually 16
Ndenda Mutsaku
2019-01-14
Español despues ingles Spanish then English Me tomó tiempo publicarlo, escribí este blog en mi primer mes en Senegal It took me time to post it, I write this in my first month in Senegal GCY me dijo que estaría en una casa +9 y no exageraban cuando me dijeron que no podían responder con...
Read MoreTrazas de pensamientos mañaneros
Paula Medina
2019-01-14
January 14th 2018 Today we don’t have Wolof class in the morning. So I take the path to the outskirts of my town, what I call the forest. I walk exchanging some ¨Salammalekum¨, I open my eyes to the beauty of the baobabs and I discover a new small town surrounded by peace and calmness....
Read MoreIt’s been a while
Manuel Quesada Nylen
2019-01-11
Haven’t written a blog post since before the holidays, which is at least two months. Reading some of the blogs of the Fellow Roundup is not something I do quite often but today I read Ecuador fellow Melinda’s recent post where she talked about the best way she can describe her experience to people asking,...
Read MoreChapter 9: Welcome to My Yankee Candle Store (Senegal Edition)
Xandra Coleman
2019-01-10
We were floating on the Pink Lake, a lake with a higher salt concentration than the dead sea. Around me, friends were harping on the strong saltine smell, I, on the other hand, closed my eyes and found myself transported to the inside of a Philly Pretzal Factory. Back in September the smell of Lac...
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the Total Myth of "Finding Yourself" and Why You Should Never do it
Sophia Youngdahl
2019-01-09
In the months before coming to Senegal, the thing I searched for the most was clarity. Clarity within myself, clarity in what the heck I was about to do with my life, clarity pertaining to who I would become and what would change over the course of eight months abroad. I don’t quite know what...
Read MoreA few survival tips! Algunos consejos de supervivencia List of things you need to know if you come to Senegal ( I learn this from my first week In my host family)/ Lista de cosas que deberías saber sí vienes a Senegal. (Aprendí esto en mi primera semana con mi familia de acogida)
Ndenda Mutsaku
2019-01-03
-Greetings is essential for social life and is one of the most important things, if you don’t do it you would be seen as antisocial!! Is also the best way to do random new friends -Cookings will be a great upper body workout! -Be ready to sit in the floor and eat in a big...
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Teranga
Maddi McGirr
2018-12-21
When you look at this photo all you can see is a mango, a dirt track and a lot of blue. But this simple mango is a reminder of the generosity shown to me since coming to this country. I took this photo during my first weeks here in Senegal. It was a day when...
Read Morewhat ever do i do now?
Ellie Van Gorden
2018-12-19
i asked myself a version of this question right around the time i got rejected from college last year and was in need of a serious pep-talk. at that time, my answer was “go change the world”. now, my answer is the same, but my perspective is *quite* different. although my physical world has expanded,...
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A Senegalese Room of My Own
Phoebe Shea Perez
2018-12-17
These are pictures of my room in its afternoon glory of a surprisingly soothing Saturday in Touba Toul. This was the first day my room here felt like my room. That morning I had gone to work against my own will – I’m always afraid to go on Saturdays when we have the weekly market...
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Finding clarity through nature
Elena Blanco
2018-12-17
The best place for me to feel calm and think, is any place that has trees. I find myself having a hard time to sit and be present with others. This has always been quite difficult for me. When in a large group i feel as if i need a break to breath and recollect....
Read MoreDefining Normal
Jacqueline Oeschger
2018-11-27
I’m having a hard time defining normal. Considering I have never once in my life been called this, nor can I say I associate with it in nearly any way. But, after shaving my brothers head, stepping over half dead crickets and chicken bones to get to my room I turned around and looked at...
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