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
Broken Lens
Gloria Kirk
2016-11-22
I think I have always loved photography, both looking at pictures and taking them. My favorite being documentary photography. I love the way a picture can tell a story and especially the way people can be captured within that story. I had been hoping that this year I would have the time to really explore...
Read MoreIt’s All About Sharing
Dora Lee
2016-11-16
When your a little kid, one of the first and most important ethical lessons you learn is to share. Whether that’s sharing your favorite legos with your brother or sharing your heart by making sure that you love every member of your family equally, sharing is seen as something quite essential to teach at home...
Read MoreTrump’s New America
Dora Lee
2016-11-16
Every morning, after tying up my mosquito net and turning off my fan, I always check my little Nokia phone to see if I have any messages from my team leader or other fellows. Waking up the other morning, the last thing that I expected to see was a text message from another...
Read MoreHomesick? Nah, I’m Foodsick
Na'im Pickett
2016-11-08
While being in Senegal, the biggest change for me has been diet. Everyday I eat the same thing. Breakfast is half of a baguette with chocolate spread & milk. Lunch is Fish and rice with a few vegetables. Dinner is either the same as lunch or we'll eat millet and beans. I haven't been homesick...
Read MoreNot included in your Travel guide.
Marvellous John
2016-11-08
Have you ever been to a place and wondered why it was not listed in the travel guide as one of the ‘Top 10 places to visit’ ? Well I have and I came up with a couple of answers. It could be that the author of that travel guide hasn’t been there yet. It...
Read MoreMy New Home
Na'im Pickett
2016-11-08
After a month of ICO in Dakar. We were shipped off to our villages where we'd remain for the duration of the program. I've been here in Ngueniene for about a solid month now and when I tell you that the wildlife here is something else, I ain't lying. All of the bugs can fly....
Read MoreCulture Shock? What’s That?
Na'im Pickett
2016-11-08
Exiting the plane after a two-day flight, I touched down in Dakar. I thought to myself, "I'm in Africa, I made it." I was so happy to finally be in "The Motherland", surrounded by people that looked like me and a similar culture to many African Americans. I was so excited to embark on this...
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Teaching English is Hard
Anh Tu Lu
2016-11-08
When the teacher walked in through the front door, the students in a second level high school English class all stood up, all reciting, “Good morning, sir.” As an observing student-teacher, I, too, do the same. This particular action has reminded me of my elementary education in Vietnam, among many other cultural similarities that are...
Read MoreEight months in four minutes
Brooke Donner
2016-11-01
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zCoC5D5488s A sanguine overview of my bridge year in Senegal. For a slightly more honest and raw account, look back at my previous blogs. Peace only.
Read MoreI am Coumba
Elise Petersen
2016-10-28
This is a day in the life of “Coumba” I wake up around 7:30-8:00am and begin the day by staring aimlessly at my light blue mosquito net until I have to pee so badly I finally get out of bed. I race to the bathroom (and by bathroom I mean the hole in the...
Read MoreLife Update #1 (written October 2016)
Dora Lee
2016-10-28
Due to my lack of wifi and quite horrible communication skills, I figured that doing a ‘Life Update’ would be helpful to keep everyone up-to-date on what is happening in my life at the moment. I am currently at my home stay in the village of Thiadiaye. It’s located in the Petite Coute Region of...
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A bit of civilization
Jasen Lo
2016-10-02
“You know, you should really skype your family and show them what we look like here in Dakar. Make sure they know you’re not hanging around with funny people. We know what Africa looks like to them. Let them know we have a bit of civilization.” This was what my aunt was telling me in perfectly fluent English when...
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