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...
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Where I Live
Lindsay Saligman
2014-10-09
Imagine you’re in Quito. Imagine you’ve just arrived on a plane from wherever you’re from. Imagine getting on a bus and heading East. Imagine driving through the valleys of Cumbaya and Tumbaco as you leave the city, and then imagine climbing the Andes mountains until you get so high nothing grows. Then, very suddenly, you’ll...
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Resettling
Georgia Reid
2014-10-07
[Wiser – Old Man Canyon, Phantoms & Friends E.P.] Monday, the 6th of October, marks the beginning of my sixth full week here. The first three weeks in Quito (the capitol city of Ecuador) I lived with a host family, attending language school and training seminars, squeezing in bits of exploration as I could. I...
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“Welcome home, mi hija!”
Elisa Portz
2014-10-07
I have found Ecuadorian people to be very hospitable. My host family has made me part of their family. They have really taken me into their home and welcomed me greatly. This morning I asked my host mom if I could do my laundry and she said yes, so I went to get my dirty...
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I Love Running
Jaxom Moore
2014-09-29
Running sucks! I mean like really bad. Who in their right mind would ever want to push their body and mind to the limit with such a slow and boring method. First of all, you’re never comfortable while running; It’s too cold, hot, rainy, just don’t feel like it, WHATEVER. There are an infinite number...
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Drawing Inspiration from Insecurities
Laurel Rogers
2014-09-29
Quito is a city of two million people, with an extremely large, complicated public transportation system. I have been using this transportation almost every day to get to Spanish classes, Global Citizen Year events, and other places. However, after only three weeks, I barely know which bus to take. Thursday night I went to a...
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There is Something Romantic About Public Transportation…
Camila Diaz
2014-09-26
“Você gostaria de se sentar” “Would you like to sit down?” “Não, obrigada.” “No thank you.” It amazes me how the bus drivers manage to keep buses intact as they quickly make turns, speed up mountains, and then back down them again all the while passengers sway from side to side. Every time I get...
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Keeping 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...
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My 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...
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