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
A House Divided, Two Nations at Stake
David Jiang
2018-10-26
A House Divided, Two Nations at Stake In a flash, two months of my bridge-year odyssey has passed. This period will forever be remembered as a significant milestone, a time when I succeeded in the enormous task of settling myself into this new life abroad. Being an American living in Brazil, an individual invested in...
Read MoreA Reflection on Fear
Rebecca Rose
2018-10-26
Disclaimer: I fully understand and respect each individual’s right to interpret political landscapes as they will. The following is not the right answer. It’s simply my simplified understanding of extraordinarily complex political dynamics. Brazil, as with much of South America and elsewhere, has repeatedly struggled with corrupt politicians in the government. In 2003, PT (Partido...
Read MoreObservations a Month and Three Quarters In
Ellie Van Gorden
2018-10-24
Sometimes, you start writing, but then the pen explodes and the mosquitoes find you. It is at this point where you recognize that the world is telling you to stop and start again. So here’s attempt number two at this blog! ~ There’s been a man in my entryway seated in one of our creaky,...
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A Learning Curve
Leonie Tollefson
2018-10-24
I’ve spent the past several days trying to think of adjectives to describe my apprenticeship experience so far, and I can only think of one simple one: crazy. For the last month and a half, I have been waking up at 6 AM to hail a rickshaw to my government school 25 minutes away, where...
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Translation
Macy Lipkin
2018-10-22
My first memory of Spanish class takes place on a dark blue carpet (which we always called “the rug”) in the corner of a classroom on the first floor of Barbieri Elementary School in Framingham, Massachusetts. I spent most of my time next door with Mrs. Gray, but us English-speakers went to the other side...
Read MoreA Month In One Day
Maddi McGirr
2018-10-22
I wake up this morning in my cosy (small) room, slits of sunlight creeping through the curtain, the sound of the fan blended with the sounds of my host family preparing for the day outside. The morning starts with an array of “Sala Malay kum” ‘s and ” Nanga def”s , Ça va? Ça va....
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A Weekend in the Village
Khalil Laltoo
2018-10-22
I originally intended to write a poem about this experience, but sometimes poetry can be a bit strenuous. If a journal entry is like a window into someone’s life, then a poetry is like a prism. Disconnected events, colors, feelings, and fleeting moments are condensed into a single ray. Two days ago I arrived in...
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My Everyday Life in Ecuador
Bihotza James-Lejarcegui
2018-10-21
Sorry this is so long but I want you guys to know what my everyday life looks like in Ecuador! I am not building houses, providing poor children with toilet paper, or going on touristic excursions every weekend– I am living the life as an average, middle class Ecuadorian, and it is important for me...
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How I Transitioned into My New Life in Ecuador
Ivana Filipovic
2018-10-19
Deseo que siempre tengas: AGUA – para beber FUEGO – para calentar AIRE – para respirar TIERRA – para vivir en ella These words were written on a sign in an ecological toilet in Kinti Wasi, a community based in rural Suscal, in the province of Cañar. It was started by women who want to...
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