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
Coming Home
Janet Sebastian-Coleman
2015-11-23
November 18th 2015 I held on to the metal bar above my head and watched the deep orange earth fly by me; our driver was pushing this truck as hard as it would go, occasionally the exhaust would squirt out black but we moved on fast enough that I barely had time to register the foul smell. We...
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To the Girl in O’Hare
Maria Morava
2015-11-16
Two months ago I stood small in O’Hare International Airport. In a layover on my way to San Francisco, I had a sandwich and congratulated myself on surviving my first plane ride. I had unceremoniously began my year of firsts: just two months shy of graduating from my small high school in my small town,...
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A Lesson in Patience
Maya Panicker
2015-11-06
"Things take the time they take. Don't worry. How many roads did St. Augustine follow before be became St. Augustine?" – Mary Oliver I certainly hope St. Augustine remembered to bring a toothbrush and a change of clothes, because if he were maneuvering around Senegal he would never survive without them. Things take pretty long...
Read MoreThe First Glance
Janet Sebastian-Coleman
2015-11-01
November 1st 2015: In this film I sought to show a glimpse of the sights and the daily life of my first month in Ibel, my community placement. When I showed the film to my family they were extremely excited, they were clapping and screaming. The Senegalese love photos and I think the ability to...
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Abdul Godri
Jackson Harris
2015-11-01
Written on 31 October On Finding A New Home Dear map-makers of the world, I beg you to reconsider. Sincerely, Abdul Godri Ba Let me explain. Abdul Godri lives in Pelel Kendessa, a sprawling village nestled in the mountains that separate Senegal from Guinea. Godri (as his family and friends call him) is...
Read MoreGoing Home/Baptism
Ruby MacMillan
2015-10-31
Written October 5th, 2015 Going Home The rain was coming down. When I say it was coming down, I mean it. I had never experienced rain that teemed down with such ferocity as this. I had spent the day in the back of a truck, with six other fellows who, one by one, were dropped...
Read MoreOne Word and a Huge Success
Janet Sebastian-Coleman
2015-10-31
October 28th 2015: My four-year-old brother Moussa loves to quiz me in Pularr. His favorite after dinner entertainment is to point to various body parts and say honnu o innete? (What is this called?). He always starts with his personal favorite, tinde (forehead). So I’ve got that word down pat. I learned pretty early on if I’m feeling...
Read MoreFood Glorious Food
Janet Sebastian-Coleman
2015-10-31
October 18th 2015: The romance of travel often rests in the food: the scents, tastes, spices of another part of the world. In Ibel, I live constantly surrounded by food. The okra that will be in today’s lunch is less than ten feet from my soodu (hut/room). Right now my compound is full of corn, okra, and millet...
Read MoreRealizing Identities and Remembering My Art
Janet Sebastian-Coleman
2015-10-31
October 16th 2015: About a week ago, I pulled myself out of bed hoping to have a little time to myself before being totally surrounded by kids and food. When I pulled open my door I was greeted by a pale blue morning and a magically empty compound. My family had gone to buy bread. Amazingly, I was...
Read MoreHighs and Lows
Allison Douma
2015-10-31
Everyone says that during this year I will experience “my highest highs and my lowest lows” and I don’t really know yet if my highs are that high and my lows are that low, but I do know that I experience them on a daily basis. A lot of my highs are small, like my...
Read MoreRammatou
Allison Douma
2015-10-31
Today I was baptized, I am now Rammatou Laye Ba. I was given this name by my host family in Mako and our team leaders decided to do a naming ceremony (something like a baptism) for each of us. Aminatta washed our head with a little water and pretended to shave our heads like they...
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I am not the same person who left the United States
Mason J. Sedlack
2015-10-24
I am not who I once was, and I will never be that person again. I am not sure who I will become, but whoever that is, I know that it is who I want to be. Who I have wanted to be for a long time. I have never felt so different. I have...
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