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
Gone to Carolina in my Mind: Reflections on Homesickness
Alice Brower
2014-10-13
If I close my eyes, I can see my home in Chapel Hill and my round dining room table with afternoon light bouncing off the light wood. I can hear my mom’s boots bounding up the steps. I can feel the last turn in the car on the drive to my best friend’s house. I...
Read MoreKeeping You Posted
Jose Cruz
2014-09-26
I wrote these words on Friday, September 19th. I have now been in Senegal for three weeks and away from home for a little more than a month. It’s been a while since I’ve last uploaded a blog, and I know that many of you are very curious about what I’ve been doing and—more importantly—how...
Read MoreMy Answer
Grace Mannix
2014-09-26
“How is Africa?” That’s a loaded question, and definitely a hard one to answer. I’ve only been here for three weeks, but I’ll say that it’s everything you can think of in the most extreme form, but nothing you would expect. There are no subtleties. Whether you like it or not, the atmosphere is loud...
Read MoreP.S. I Ate Onions
Olivia Orosco
2014-09-25
Dear momma,Eight am is the perfect time of day here. The sun casts long shadows, it rose not too long ago. The dust from the comings and goings of the previous day has settled, leaving the air fresh. The breeze is crisp, for West Africa. Women clean their stoops as men head to work on...
Read More4. Roller Coaster Rides
Sophia Richter
2014-09-24
First of all: Sheep. Now that that is taken care of – Dakar. Dakar seems to be a good place to start. It’s where I’ve spent my first two weeks in Senegal and yet I still cannot seem to put a finger on what exactly Dakar has done to me. Done for me is different....
Read More3. A Day in Dakar
Sophia Richter
2014-09-24
It’s 6:30 and already I can hear our “domestiques” sweeping the tiled courtyard in front of my bedroom door. It’s the same sound every morning: little consistencies like that make me feel a bit more at home. The domestique? I actually have two of them. They are essentially maids but are treated like family: they...
Read MoreIn A Relationship with Life
Aiman Ahmad Marzio
2014-09-18
September 16th, 2014 It has been a month since I left home in Malaysia and already so much has taken place. I want to share it all – families, training, failures, triumphs, conversations, mosquito bites, mangoes, inspirations, marriage proposals, tears, dances, quirky language teachers, baobabs et cetera – but I’m afraid I have no idea...
Read MoreLearning to Drink Coffee
Elizabeth Schmidt
2014-09-11
It has been a week since I moved in with my Dakar host family. I came home Sunday afternoon to a room full of suitcases, soon to be packed and sent off to France with half of the family. When my grandmother first brought me home, most of the adults were preoccupied with packing so...
Read MoreBaby Steps
Alice Brower
2014-09-08
When I saw the Philippines vs. Senegal basketball game on the TV in my families’ home, my cheeks moved into a consuming smile and happy tears sprung to my eyes. Because culture shock ain’t no joke. My life in Senegal is hard to undersand. Wolof sounds like everyone is playing a practical joke on me and...
Read More404 Error (Español)
Jose Cruz
2014-09-08
Nota: La mayoría de mis blogs saldrán unos 10-14 días después del dia que los escribí. Esto se debe principalmente a mi poco acceso al internet y al tiempo que toma revisar y aprobar mis escrituras. Escribí esto durante una noche de insomnio en mi segunda noche en Senegal. Es un poco largo, así que...
Read More404 Error (English)
Jose Cruz
2014-09-08
Note: Most of my blogs will be uploaded about 10-14 days after I actually wrote them. This is due to several factors, the main ones being: lack of access to internet, and the revision and approval of my blog. I wrote this in a night of insomnia on my second day in Senegal. It is...
Read MoreCena Especial
Jose Cruz
2014-09-07
Tengo dos otros blogs sobre mi tiempo en entrenamiento que están en el proceso de ser completados, pero después de hoy, siento la necesidad de romper el orden cronologico que quise mantener para mi blog. Escribo estas palabras en la tarde de 25 de agosto de 2014. ¡Saludos! Sé que muchos de ustedes quieren saber...
Read More