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
Country
Acknowledgements
Grace Mannix
2015-05-07
I’m sure you’re familiar with that part after a theater performance where the cast is acknowledging the people that made the production possible. They already took their final bow and the time has come to share the spotlight before the audience goes home. As the curtains of my Global Citizen Year are drawn, I’d like...
Read MoreWays To Grow
Aiman Ahmad Marzio
2015-04-18
April 3rd, 2015. Damay nyibi dek. (I’m going home.) Kan ngay nyibi? (When?) Mardi bi di new. (Next Tuesday) Loolu gaw na. Do togg ba ci kanam. Fii dina wet. Dinanu la namm! (That’s so soon. You should stay longer. We’re all going to miss you!) Man tamit, dinaa leen namm loll… (I’m going to...
Read MoreOpen April 18th
Grace Mannix
2015-04-18
Dearest family and friends, I only have one more card to open for the plane ride home and thought it was way past time for me to write you back. Can you believe how little time is left until I see you again?! I often wonder where the time went and how I spent the...
Read MoreAn Overdue Blog Post
Grace Mannix
2015-04-04
It’s always wonderful to be present when a child is in the midst of discovery. Yesterday, I watched a six year old boy named Hamdi listen to music with an MP3 player for the first time. Someone put the earphones in for him and passed him the phone, and we waited to see his adorable...
Read MoreUnder The Net
Rayla Freeman
2015-03-26
I have cried in your arms and taken respite from many a’ hard day there Spent nights in your embrace Willling myself to be strong I have cried again I have fallen apart I have felt alone and when I finally couldn’t cry anymore I built myself back with you around me like a shield...
Read MoreHoles and Home
Alice Brower
2015-03-26
My whole life I’ve been told to “hand wash delicates” because it’s gentler. So when I found out that everything in Senegal is hand washed I thought my clothes would last forever. That was before I met my host sisters. Within two months their strong, insistent hands bore holes into all my clothes and their...
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Forever A Little Bit
Olivia Orosco
2015-03-26
When I first got here I was extremely reluctant to dance, actually I was extremely reluctant, hesitant, and/or scared to do much of anything. But I’m going to focus on dancing, as it can easily be extrapolated out to represent more broadly my immersion. When I first attended any kind of get together there always...
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Dear Momma
Olivia Orosco
2015-03-20
Wild Geese By Mary Oliver You do not have to be good. You do not have to walk on your knees for a hundred miles through the desert repenting. You only have to let the soft animal of your body love what it loves. Tell me about despair, yours, and I will tell you mine....
Read MoreThe Name Game
Jose Cruz
2015-03-20
Three things about names in Senegal: #1. Senegal has weird names. The most common name for women is Fatou, which is also the Wolof word for “death”. I havenÛªt deciphered the meaning. Some men are called Magget, the Wolof word for ÛÏold personÛ. Why someone would call a baby ÛÏOld PersonÛ is beyond me, but...
Read MoreA Baby’s Arrival Changes Everything
Cittely Fuentes
2015-03-20
Although I live in a site that is (without a doubt) considered urban, the internet access is a luxury. Within my apprenticeship at the elementary school, my language classes and other extracurricular activities, I rarely have the time to sit in front of a computer to see any updates from home on the internet. For...
Read MoreMy People
Grace Mannix
2015-03-05
Somewhere along the lines of growing up I heard the saying, “You become like the five people you spend most of your time with.” I initially questioned the validity of this statement, but soon caught myself proving that there is some truth behind it, i.e. occasionally saying things a friend would always say, or having...
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5. A Taste of Perspective and a Transformation in Returning
Sophia Richter
2015-01-31
I’m sitting on a beautifully woven met stretched out over the cool sand and beneath the dark sky. There is a light breeze that rustles the leaves on a nearby mango tree and causes a roosting bird to take flight. Reflecting on my day, I can hear the rhythmic drumming of a marriage celebration. I...
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