Fellow Stories
True gap year stories from Fellows abroad!
Check out the latest blogs from Global Citizen Year Fellows in Brazil, Ecuador, and India!
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Class Year
Country
A Potential Reality: Gaining More Than I Give
Jaime Givens
2018-10-19
I was in a Tufts 1+4 orientation session when I scribbled down the phrase that “success can be more abstract.” I scribbled this phrase into my notebook after I asked a question about the potential guilt that will accompany gaining more from my gap year than the community I will be working with. One peer...
Read MoreInside the Enclosure
David Jiang
2018-10-18
Inside the Enclosure “David, let’s go to the zoo.” These were six words that once foreshadowed afternoons of pure joy during my childhood: a time when I excitedly zipped around from cage to cage, an adventurer in search of exotic beasts. Animals were my childhood passion, my first love. National Geographic magazines and Planet Earth...
Read MoreHere to Live, not to Stay
Barbara Peck
2018-10-17
I was warned about “Ecua-Time”. I was told that life followed a slower pace here and that people were always late. I was told that there would be a lot of down time, a lot of hours dedicated to just me and my thoughts. My reaction was, Perfect, that’s exactly what I need. Time to...
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To Be a Woman
Maria Bossert
2018-10-14
* I realize that I’m typing this with white knuckles. I realize that my jaw is tense as the I recall the words of recent headlines swirling in my brain. I realize that I’m biased, and I carry my biases with me in this blog post. However… This post is...
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So, How’s India So Far?
Elizabeth Farrell
2018-10-14
The view beside my school one morning before work “I just realized I have not been on this good earth for so long..” something my host sister said in response to finding out I was born in 1999 the first time we hung out together. This statement of hers encapsulates exactly how I felt the...
Read MoreChapter 4: The Goats Here, They Burp
Xandra Coleman
2018-10-11
Perhaps my largest intention for this trip is to focus on my personal development and self-discovery. In order to do that, I’ve been told that it is important to become more mindful of one’s surroundings, environment, and self. Therefore, as part of this journey, each month I will be writing one blog focused on one...
Read MoreBeautiful People and Happenings
Ellie Van Gorden
2018-10-11
I slowly wake to the sound of Taps bellowing out of the ancient speakers lining the walls of the military base about 100 yards out from my bedroom window. The sun creeps in through my draping white curtain, and I hear the rooster crow. I feel the footsteps approaching; the troops chant and sing in...
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Embracing the Uncomfortable
Sundhya Alter
2018-10-09
Today is October 9th. Not only does that mean that i’ve been in Ecuador for about one month but it also means fall. The leaves change into beautiful gold, red and orange colors and its the time when apples are the right amount of crispy. The air is chilled so vests are now again in...
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Mi primer mes en Brasil My first month in Brazil
Mauro Ramirez-Azofeifa
2018-10-09
El 2 de Septiembre llegué a Brasil. Después de un largo viaje de más de 30 horas desde la Universidad de Stanford. En mi primer semana estuve recibiendo capacitación en el sur de la Isla de Florianópolis. Desde el primer momento me sentí como en casa cuando comí arroz, frijoles, frutas, ensalada y carnes. El...
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