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
Welcome to Travel
Mason J. Sedlack
2015-08-27
8-27-2015, JFK New York Wow. What an amazing few days… Well… Week. What am amazing week. I've met so many people and learned so much and now, as I sit in JFK airport watching two of my cohort, Abby and Jackson, play hacky(?)sac and listen to the two women next to me argue in Arabic,...
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Ready together
Brooke Donner
2015-08-27
Last night we danced. Senegalese pop music bounced off the trunks of centuries-old redwood trees as we encircled a campfire and attempted to follow the lead of our dance instructor Christian, a fellow Senegal Fellow from Germany (I’m still not sure why he knew the routine, but he sure knew it). Our feet moved quickly...
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Why Not?
Maya Panicker
2015-08-27
When informing peers of my imminent bridge year in Senegal, the response usually starts out the same: Where the heck is Senegal? After explaining to them that, yes, Senegal is a real country and, no, it’s not one of those tiny island nations, they begin to ask the real question. Why? Why would I choose...
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Let the Adventure Begin!
Abigail Foy
2015-08-27
August 26, 2015 Welcome to my blog! I can’t believe the time has come to begin this journey! I would like to introduce myself and tell you a little bit about me. My name is Abby Foy, a recent Los Gatos High School graduate and a member of University of Puget Sound’s class...
Read MoreThe Departure
Janet Sebastian-Coleman
2015-08-26
My anticipation for travel has been building up for months, then suddenly the date and time of departure are staring me in the face, shouting “I'm here!”. And I stare blankly back. “You're here? You look like tomorrow, but are you real?” But it must be true for I have a schedule that says “2:30am...
Read MoreThe Adventure Begins
Allison Douma
2015-08-25
In wolof the word ndank ndank means “little by little”. This saying is going to be my motto for the year. I have a tendency to want to skip steps, not put in the hard work, but still want to get the desired out come. This year I plan on taking every thing in and...
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Veins of the World
Maria Morava
2015-08-25
As I awoke from A Midsummer Night’s Dream, I felt sobered and new. Giving into the dark interstate, I began to grieve the last performance I would likely be a part of for at least a year. Please know I’m not under any illusion that a year is some great lapse of time – it...
Read MoreSome thoughts before departure
Ruby MacMillan
2015-08-25
A friend once asked me to imagine how it would feel to set foot on an earth that had never been touched by mankind. This evoked a vision of an enchanting natural paradise, where all beings function harmoniously with the land that grants them life. As I began to ponder this idea further, I started...
Read MoreI’ll be back
Alice Brower
2015-05-27
Ami’s eyes glinted with warmth as she put her hand on my shoulder “Alice, are you going to come back?” she asked. “Of course!” I said with certainty. And then I stopped. Because we both know that’s not really true. I’m not sure that I’ll ever return. As April 7th, the day I leave Sandiara...
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Adjustment
Diego Ramos-Meyer
2015-05-19
I۪m sure every Fellow (that wasn۪t sleeping) can remember the presentation on Culture Shock㢠that Andy, team leader from Ecuador, gave one of the final days of Pre-Departure Training. A graph of the process of immersion on the board, an upside-down parabola. The honeymoon phase of cultural awe and giddiness, the slow but relentless awkward...
Read MoreWhy don’t you act Senegalese enough?
Cittely Fuentes
2015-05-19
“Do you seriously think all Senegalese girls only wear long skirts?” shouted my host sister from Dakar, the capital of Senegal,with a noticeable displeasure as if my question was meantto offend her or make her feel less.All I wantedwas to be more familiar with the Senegalesenight lifeand so I innocently asked her the type of...
Read MoreDear Oulimata
Cittely Fuentes
2015-05-15
You might find yourself reading this public letter months after I leave or maybe tomorrow morning when you go to the scientific club in school to use the internet only (oops, that was a secret) but what I actually hope for is for you to one day read this all without the help of someone...
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