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
Three New Things
Emily Soule
2012-11-27
“Learn three new things before you come back to us,” the kindly man had commanded Cat, when he sent her forth into the city. She always did. Sometimes it was no more than three new words of the Braavosi tongue. Sometimes she brought back sailor’s tales, of strange and wondrous happenings from the wide, wet world beyond the isles of...
Read More
Seeking Identity in the Company of Family
Emily Hwang
2012-11-27
I came to Latin American with various disclaimers in tow about possible impending struggles. The majority of them- the ones concerning safety, Ecua-time (the cultural phenomenon of national tardiness), Machismo, and the drinking culture- were anticipated and unfortunately, warranted. But I also received a few notes of caution about the intense unity of families here, to...
Read More
Chalil’s Prayer
Ariel Vardy
2012-11-26
He pushes us through crowded streets, past shouting vendors, ducking through soccer games, and across streets that have a constant flow of traffic. Unmaintained through traffic light, I follow him into the middle of the road, and absorb the moment—a bus almost hits me as it tries to change lanes, dipping into the incoming traffic...
Read More
The Human Connection
Delia Ross
2012-11-21
I can recognize just about everyone in my community of 40 families by face. That said, when someone new comes through, it’s pretty noticeable. So when I was walking down the street yesterday selling raffle tickets for an upcoming fundraiser with some of the younger kids and one of them turned to me and whispered,...
Read More
The Foreignness within the Normalcy, The Normalcy within the Foreignness
Emily Soule
2012-11-21
I feel the stories I share should be filled with pithy anecdotes and cultural insights. Yet all I have to offer is normalcy. Life does not change from one hemisphere to the other. Relationships, societies, human beings – they mesh and flow in similar collisions, no matter the place. My life here in Ecuador feels…normal. That surprises me. The day before...
Read More
Teach me, Ecuador
Emily Power
2012-11-21
My first day in the Amazon I went to a Kichwa wedding. I briefly met my new family, Lidia Cerda, my mom, Jorge, my brother in law, Erika, my sister and Jorge’s wife, as well as some cousins whom I did not have the chance to meet properly until much later. We all sat on a log to watch...
Read MoreAutumn Moon
Galen Tsongas
2012-11-21
Before I begin transcribing the blog I’ve written in my journal, there are a few minor things I’d like to make clear. This blog post will be a culmination of journal entries and a few attempted blog posts, which may mean the writing will be choppy. I am a bit technogically incapable, so I don’t...
Read More
The Village Gringa
Carrie Hamilton
2012-11-21
One of the many things I have come to realize during my time in Ecuador is how inherently obvious my foreigner-status is to the Kichwas of Alto Tena. I don’t know if it was my look of disbelief when my mother put a plate of chontacuro (most accurately described as maggots) in front of me...
Read More
Meditation in the Maze
Brian Riefler
2012-11-21
Having had a Jesuit high-school education, I have been taught the value of reflection, which I believe is vital to staying centered on life, family, and most importantly to God. Kairos, a three-day retreat at most Jesuit high schools, is named for the Greek term meaning “The Lord’s time” and is vastly different from linear time because it invites us to...
Read More