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
Meet the Family
Elston Tortuga
2014-11-03
My immediate family consists of my mom, Sokhna Deme, president of the Ngueniene Women’s Association, a woman unable to have her own children, a woman married to a slowly dying man 30 years her senior, who lives an hour away with his first wife and children; she is a strong, noble woman, a woman who...
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A Love Letter to Ataya
Alice Brower
2014-11-03
My first day in Senegal, I sat with my knees close to my chest, leaning against a concrete wall, while warily eyeing my new Senegalese host brother as he lounged on a mat and invited me to join him. A lanky twenty-something approached us, placed an old rusty black stove on the ground along with...
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Week on Senegal #2: On Language
Jose Cruz
2014-10-21
I write these words on October 15th. While I will still write seven blogs, it won’t all be done in a week. I chose that quality is better than quantity and took my time with my blogs. Recently, I’ve been thinking a lot about the role language plays in society, mainly because of all the...
Read MoreSemana sobre Senegal #0.5: Ebola
Jose Cruz
2014-10-16
Escribo estas palabras el jueves, 9 de octubre de 2014. Ayer dije que escribiría un blog pequeño cada día de esta semana, cada uno sobre una característica distinta de Senegal. Cuando le pregunté a mis amigos qué querían saber, tuve varios que me preguntaron sobre Ebola. Aunque no era algo a que le quise prestar...
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A Taste of Perspective and a Transformation in Returning
Sophia Richter
2014-10-16
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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A Week in Mbodiene
Alisa Nelson
2014-10-14
Featuring: a new family – new languages – love in the form of sickness – some folklore and a baby goat – and tea A NEW FAMILY I have six siblings, plus an older brother who doesn’t live at home. My father brings home fish that aren’t quite dead yet and my mother sings to...
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Do You Know Obama?
Diego Ramos-Meyer
2014-10-13
Global Citizen Year made it very clear to the Fellows crazy enough to sign up that this experience and the places we were going to would defy all of our expectations. Before I left for this experience, my mother drove me all the way to downtown Washington, DC, waltzed into the air-conditioned souvenir shop, and...
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The Ten Biggest Lessons I have Learned So Far
Rayla Freeman
2014-10-13
Some of these lessons I should have understood before now, but it’s very humbling to admit that I am just starting to learn them and to really understand them now. I will probably learn most of these lessons again in the future, but for now – this is where I am. #1. This is not a...
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Chee Eye Dee Eye
Jose Cruz
2014-10-13
I write these words on Wednesday, October 8th, 2014 Despite having what I believe to be an above-average capability to understand and respect other people’s points of view, I never understood “the country folk”. Being raised in a mainly urban setting for my entire life, it became increasingly hard over the years to comprehend why...
Read MoreChi Ay Di Ay (Español)
Jose Cruz
2014-10-13
Escribo estas palabras el miércoles, 8 de octubre de 2014 Aunque considero que yo tengo una Buena capacidad de comprender y respetar los puntos de vista de otras personas, jamás llegué a comprender a la “gente del campo”. Como fui criado en el área urbano toda mi vida, se me hacía muy difícil comprender por...
Read More Week On Senegal #1: On Food
Jose Cruz
2014-10-13
The wise King Solomon once wrote: “So I commend the enjoyment of life, because there is nothing better for a person under the sun than to eat and drink and be glad. Then joy will accompany them in their toil all the days of the life God has given them under the sun.” -Ecclesiastes 8:15...
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Week on Senegal #0.5: On Ebola
Jose Cruz
2014-10-13
I write these words on Thursday, October 9, 2014. Yesterday, I wrote that I would write one blog per day, each one concerning a different characteristic of Senegal. I also asked a few friends if they had anything specific they wanted me to talk about. A couple of them mentioned Ebola. Since I wish to...
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