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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Class Year
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Stories in the Stars
Mason J. Sedlack
2016-04-05
I have this friend back home. He’s one of my best friends. I met him when I was ten, over a discussion on how myself, another friend, and he would take over the world using, and I quote: “A box of puppies, C4, and duct tape.” A wonderful way to start a friendship in my...
Read MoreMuñyo
Abigail Foy
2016-04-02
February 24 I have five running lists in the back of my journal. One of them I titled “Things I Want to Bring Home”. This list isn’t a collection of items I want to transport back to the States, but instead phrases and cultural customs I want to integrate back into my life permanently. I’d...
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Water: a photo essay
Brooke Donner
2016-03-29
Here’s a look at how we use water around my host family’s compound in Kédougou, Senegal. My neighbor’s well was our primary source of water until it and most other wells in the neighborhood dried up in late February. I’ve been getting my drinking water from this well pump since I arrived in...
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Mirando hacia atrás
Josue Morales Vivas
2016-03-21
Mirando hacia atrás. September, 2014. Yesterday I was sitting on a bench near my new home thinking about all the happenings during these past two weeks -from our first Senegalese meal, to Mermoz beach. Today, I have figured out that I would share two inter combined lessons I have learnt throughout these two weeks that...
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The River
Allison Douma
2016-03-19
One of the first things that I learned about my village of Mako was that the Gambie river flows right through the middle of it. I grew up in Richmond, Virginia where we call ourselves “The River City”, so I was beyond excited to have a river in my new home because it would feel...
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Why I’m a child and not a bride
Armi Katariina Kauppila
2016-03-19
Integration, honestly. It’s a mix of celebration for the little wins and the feeling that this whole thing is a one big lie. A lie because for six desperate months I’ve been trying to become a part of something I cannot possible be a part of. The family, the village, the culture, anything. But suddenly,...
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Dear current and future high school students
Brooke Donner
2016-03-15
Dear current and future high school students, There will come a time, for most of you, when you apply to college. You’ll flip through the Fiske Guide, Google photos of campuses, and join Facebook groups full of other applicants just like you. You’ll make a list with three sections— reach, match, and safety— and a...
Read MoreMeet the Family Video
Janet Sebastian-Coleman
2016-03-08
March 7th: As I begin my final month of my homestay in Ibel, Senegal here’s a look at the people, my family, that have made this year all it is. Meet the Family from Janet Sebastian-Coleman on Vimeo.
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Embracing all aspects
Brooke Donner
2016-03-03
My life here in Senegal has been full of extremes— extreme moments, people, and emotions— each battling to pull me over to their end of the spectrum. When I ride my bike through town, people often yell “toubab, okan kado”— “white person, offer me a gift”— leaving me feeling a bit ostracized and agitated....
Read MoreTo Everything
Janet Sebastian-Coleman
2016-03-02
February 9th I’ve often lamented that I would not be in Senegal long enough to see another change in season. The start of the rainy season seems far more exciting than its end; I can picture the clouds rolling in, shadows falling across the brown grasses, my siblings suddenly jumping up and dancing, the first fat drop hitting my nose,...
Read MoreThe Way of Life
Janet Sebastian-Coleman
2016-03-02
January 28th “Tell us about the American way of life,” the student asked, looking up from his notebook. “The American Way of Life?” I repeated back, stalling for time. I stood before thirty students, eyes looking carefully, waiting for a simple response. I sifted and stumbled through my own routine, my high school, my mother’s and...
Read MoreLessons in Patience
Janet Sebastian-Coleman
2016-03-02
January 19th 2016 Rama turned the page in my book, “Ca c’est cent trieze”. I look at the small number in the page corner, “O’o”, I flip back to the previous page, “ca c’est cent quinze, so…” I turn back to our page “Ca c’est cent… apres cent quinze, honnu aray?”. Rama pauses and studies the three...
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