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
Voluntourism – The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly
Wyatt Foster
2017-12-29
The concept of voluntourism has been debated about for many years. Opinions on the issue vary from the belief that it is another way for white people to exploit developing countries, to people who believe that exposure to other cultures will cause progress in terms of international development. While in the past, I’ve tended to...
Read MoreSama Waa Kerga
Erik Oline
2017-12-20
My halfway point of my time in Senegal is just days away now; if I blinked I would have missed the past 3.5 months. I figured that by this point I probably should have devoted a bit more of this blog towards my amazing host family, but hey, better late than never. My host...
Read MoreTo Hell with Political Correctness: The Calling of Joking Kinships
Shannon Yuen
2017-12-18
Listen up — I’ve got a confession to make: I call black people my slaves. Quite frequently. Matter of fact, I do it on a daily basis. (Cue: “wow who do you think you are you self-entitled ill-informed privileged war-waging racist have you ever thought of how this could possibly oppress and violate the...
Read More
Noh
Isabelle Johnson
2017-12-18
Not a day passes in the small, rural village of Colobane where the phrase nohi tamin (Sereer Laala for "the sun is hot") isn't uttered over & over. It is a frequent addition to the extended greetings made throughout the day to neighbors, friends, & family members. Throughout the past 3+ months in Senegal, however,...
Read MoreInternational house of pancakes
Avinash Jagroo
2017-12-14
It's quite funny that we as humans crave for something novel when at home, yet we cling to any sense homeliness and familiarity once miles away. It started on a cold-never in my life did I think I'd be saying this-Sunday morning in Senegal. I had a couple other fellows (Kevin and Nick) visiting my...
Read More10 Reasons Why a Taking a Bridge Year is the Right Choice
Sarah Candee
2017-12-09
Trying to make a university decision at only eighteen years old is difficult — even more difficult if you don’t know what you want to do yet (and if you do, chances are it will change). The popularity of bridge years — also known as gap years — is growing amongst high school seniors. ...
Read MoreWhy Am I In Senegal?
Isabel Munoz Beaulieu
2017-12-08
“Oh Isa, you have such a good heart.” “You are so brave, I admire you so much.” “You have such a caring heart, going to help the ones that need it the most.” “I am so proud of you, I couldn’t go to Africa to volunteer.” These are comments I have constantly...
Read More
More Than Just Sightseeing
Tiffany Hurtado
2017-12-04
It’s already been three months since I’ve been here and it feels like time is passing by both fast and slow. During these three months, I’ve been both homesick and truly happy to be here. It’s hard to explain my experience, and what’s it’s like being here. So I decided to do a photo blog...
Read More
Thankful For My New Life—My New Home
Shannon Yang
2017-11-30
Almost three months ago, I stepped off a plane in Dakar, a city I didn’t know much about, in a country that I didn’t know much about. I spent a week doing a seminar at the Tostan Training Center in Thiès, speaking English, using the Wi-Fi, eating westernized food, and then suddenly, that bubble...
Read MoreOf Neocolonialism and Other Cruelties of the World (and How to Deal With It)
Shannon Yuen
2017-11-29
’So — how’s Senegal? Are your eyes finally being opened to the cruelties of the world? The global north expunge the world's resources while the south scrimps for what little is left behind.” This Facebook message popped up on the screen of my phone as I plopped down in an internet cafe, ready to indulge...
Read MoreDesde Uruguay a Senegal, pensamientos en el Super
Julieta Lechini
2017-11-28
Cada tanto me viene a la mente las historias que mis padres y abuelos me solían contar sobre mi país. Un Uruguay donde las puertas permanecían abiertas, donde se podía comprar una bolsa de caramelos por 1 peso y donde todxs eran bienvenidxs a tomar mate a cualquier momento del día. La vida pasaba más...
Read More
Where I’m From
Erik Oline
2017-11-24
I was running through some old photos on my computer the other day and one caught my attention. I took this photo on a failed fishing trip on the Deschutes river in May. The photo is taken from the inside of my car, facing west towards a large bluff on the opposite bank...
Read More