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
More Than I Ever Have Before
Leah Mesh-Ferguson
2014-05-23
I cried, More than I ever have before. I sobbed, Body wracking sobs that left me tired. I did it in the dark, Holding it until I was alone. But the tears shed at night were not alone. There were tears of joy. Tears of departure. Tears of laughter. And oh, did I laugh, More...
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Taters
Russell Gens
2014-05-09
“Today, we’re going closer to heaven” Those were the words my friend Adela greeted me with yesterday. She and her husband had invited me to dig up the potatoes we planted together in some of my first weeks on their farm in the neighboring town of Susutul. Together with an army of in-laws we embarked...
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Tailoring with Mane
Jahshana Olivierre
2014-05-06
If you know me then you probably know monotony and I do not get along, so I’ve traded in my days teaching English at the school (for other reasons as well, which is a whole other blog post) for sewing at Mane’s tailor shop. Tailoring is a huge market in Senegal. In Kebemer, the majority...
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Tears
Cameron Carrick
2014-05-06
It’s hot. It’s one of those punishing heats that makes the simple act of lying down feel stifled. It’s hot and I’m in my garden bent low over fifteen square meters of carrots, mixing surface nutrients into the tender young roots. Despite the dry, blaring sun, down here it’s still moist and my bare feet...
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Quotes from the Year
Eva Ackerman
2014-05-05
Student: “You can only have a good mom or a good dad. Some people don’t have a good mom nor a good dad, but you definitely can’t have both a good mom and a good dad.” Student: “I don’t want to go to University because I don’t want more professors screaming at me than...
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Identity
Lauren Guido
2014-04-13
Throughout high school I searched for my identity through means of reading books, exercise, self-reflection, making friends based on common interests and goals, and questioning what I want out of my life. Fast forward to a few weeks ago when I was peeling and chopping yucca, a white starchy root vegetable that grows wild in...
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Perspective
JT Su
2014-04-11
Nine months ago, on a cloudy August morning, I got on a plane bound for home. But this wasn’t just any home. It was my home thousands of miles away from my physical and psychological home that I would be calling my second home. Remember that chilly night I landed in Ecuador—completely confused with where...
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Why I Am Building a Community Garden: A Manifesto
Alexandra Ding
2014-04-11
The well diggers hit rock last Tuesday, and so, we did what all Pulaar Futas do when problems arise: we bought ourselves a plump hen, and sacrificed it to Allah (Pulaar: sadaka. Translation: a sacrifice to gain God’s blessing and general excuse to get together and eat chicken). God-willing, impenetrable rock will yield to water,...
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R3 Animal: Playing With Owls
Joanna Shieh
2014-04-11
R3 Animal is an NGO that works to Rescue, Rehabilitate, and Reintegrate animals into their habitat. We work with animals such as penguins, parrots, macaws, monkeys, owls, and many more. http://en.r3animal.org.br Visit this website to learn more, as I don’t want to use this blog to bore you with the logistics, but entertain you with...
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