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
The Final Stretch
Madeline Ripa
2012-03-12
When I first arrived in my host community Palmarin Facao, Senegal, in the beginning of October, I started working as a nurse at the “Poste de Sante de Palmarin Facao et Centre de Planification Familiale” (The Palmarin/Facao Health Clinic and Family Planning Center). Pape Ndiaye, the sole doctor on staff, and Cecile, my one fellow...
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The Moon XVIII
Erica Anderson
2012-03-12
Funny enough, it took a trip to Senegal to have my first tarot card reading. I was lucky to not only have my American parents visit me in January, but also Lukas’s mother, who came to stay with us in our village for a week. In addition to her refreshing company, she was also kind...
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Love Letter to Sénégal
Aubrey Haddard
2012-03-12
Sama Xol My Heart, My life has finally reached a point of normalcy and I have to give it up? This is my home now, mon deuxième pays, my second country, my loving family, my students, my hard work, my joy, my dances, my baptisms, my disappointments, my surprises, my rice, my millet, my...
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Senegalese Shorts
Madeline Ripa
2012-03-12
Hello Folks! The following is a collection of my experiences that I deem are blog-worthy, but not quite long enough to have a blog to themselves. They are also a way for me to apologize for my recent lapse in blogging, though I promise more are soon to come. Decadence I start my day...
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Dancing Shoes
Charlotte Benishek
2012-03-12
Recently Megan, another fellow from my region, and I sat in the sand deeply daydreaming in the unique way that only occurs when you have absolutely nothing else to do. “How can I best show Leona (my host community) to people at home?” I mused, slightly frustrated, having been unable to answer the question myself....
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Kaya Hartley
2012-03-06
I still remember my first impression of my village. When I looked at Potou through the rolled down window as we were driving through my senses were overcome. All I could smell was burning trash, rotting trash, and fish. All I saw were dirty animals cluttering the trash filled streets, barefoot children running around, fly...
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Walking the Walk (and Living Up to My Stickers)
Emily Hanna
2012-02-17
It’s 7:50am and nearly time for me to leave the house. I take one last glance in the mirror and survey my outfit for the day; black leggings, dusty pink tank top, faded denim shirt, and a loosely knotted cotton scarf are hardly professional, serious, or teacherly attire, but they’re the best I can do...
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It’s a Photo Shoot
Brian Baylor
2012-02-14
– Liquid hydration= acquired – Clothes (underwear, shorts, ripped t-shirt, socks, Senegalese jelly shoes)= ON – Space Time Continuator (watch)= Check – K-9 companions= Following Almost every day I like to try and maintain physical fitness by going on a thirty minute run through Senegal’s beautiful all natural landscape. The run provides a sense...
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Peace Only
Lucias Potter
2012-02-10
My experiences in Senegal have continued to enchant me to the point that I want to stay here forever. One thing that I have completely fallen in love with is the village I live in named Palmarin, Ngaloo. When I first came to Senegal and I was in Dakar I had thought that it was the most peaceful place I...
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The Perks of Learning to Breathe
Russell Bollag-Miller
2012-02-10
As I mentally prepared for this year, there were things I knew I’d have to learn. I would need to learn new customs, new languages, how to live independently, and other alien concepts yet to be discovered. In fact, the things I did know were few and far between. Among this abundance of unlearned material,...
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Alhamdulilah
Natalie Davidson
2012-02-09
About a month ago I was with my mom and my sister heading home from the market in Rufisque, a town 25 minutes from my village of Sebikotane. It was a balmy evening, around 8pm – the sky was clear and the stars were bright. We were returning after a successful afternoon of shopping with...
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Alexis Adams
2012-02-07
How do you put into words something that renders you speechless? You can’t explain your emotions or share your thoughts because it seems like there is nothing to say, but you feel like you should. I have been putting off writing this blog post for as long as possible for this exact reason. Within the...
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