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
Making the Case for a Global Citizen Year
Bihotza James-Lejarcegui
2018-09-26
I don’t remember exactly how I heard about the idea of taking a gap year, but I do remember that once I learned about it, I felt a sincere need to do it. I grew up in an international household, speaking multiple languages and having family in various parts of the world that granted me...
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3 Weeks In: A Poem
Khalil Laltoo
2018-09-26
Dig for the Roots What is it about this land? I saw a dragon born of evening clouds bow its great head as it lost its way in the pink smoke of the bat streaked sky It is what remains of the natural here, stretches its wings over lands lost to cement and the well-manicured...
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Where In The World Am I
Maddy Gibson
2018-09-26
About a month ago, I moved half a world away. 1400(+) miles from everyone and everything I know. The transition from life in McMinnville, Oregon to life in Urcuqui, Imbabura has been challenging to navigate. Some moments, I feel like I’m living in a dream state. That this world I’m living in is nothing but...
Read MoreEcuapace
Sophie Meltzer
2018-09-26
It is impossible to imagine how your life will change before it actually does. You throw yourself in, full of ideas and images of a world beyond your own, yet devoid of actual knowledge of what exists. Before the jump, changing everything seems purely adventurous — even glamorous. Yet, I have found that the landing...
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BUSES GO EVERYWHERE IN ECUADOR, BUT NOWHERE IS BUS FRIENDLY
William Shain
2018-09-22
This is the wisdom that I have gained in my short time here in Ecuador. Though pickup trucks and small cars make up more than 80% of the automobiles that you see on the road, giant 40+ person buses dominate the paths as they hurdle past town after town, always en route to the next...
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Pimampiro, Ecuador – The New Place That I Call Home
Eliza Stowe
2018-09-22
Expectations (n): a strong belief that something will happen or be the case in the future. Throughout the Global Launch week at Stanford, we had countless seminars about expectations. We heard numerous speeches about the importance of flexibility and adaptability. They told us it would be impossible to enjoy our year if we set expectations...
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Love
Macy Lipkin
2018-09-20
Two hours into my seven-month homestay, the three-year-old told me she loved me. “¿Tan pronto?” I responded. “So soon?” I’m living in Quiroga, a suburb in northern Ecuador, with my host mom, host dad, and their three girls, who are three, eleven, and thirteen. My host mom, Paola, introduces me to friends as her daughter....
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Chapter 2: The New Ways of Doing Old Things
Xandra Coleman
2018-09-20
On my way to being dropped off to my host family for the very first time, amidst an utter lack of traffic lights and street signs, I saw three versions of a stop sign.1. A post holding up the mere metal outline of a stop sign with no hint of red 2. An empty post...
Read MoreGetting to Know Giron and Mi Familia
Barbara Peck
2018-09-15
The first thing I saw when I walked into my new home: Have you ever had a teacher explain the same thing in three different ways but you still didn’t understand, and so you just end up smiling and nodding? That pretty much sums up my first week here with my host family. Regardless of...
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