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
Memorable Moments
Luke Sallmen
2016-10-09
Since I'm unable to come up with a singular theme to describe my time in India thus far, I'd like to share some of the most memorable events I've experienced: The day I realized buses could hold more people than I thought was possible: I've never tolerated an elbow embedded in my ribcage for so...
Read MoreMy Internal Hypocrisy
Jensine Raihan
2016-10-08
I am writing this while swinging on a hammock that hangs on the balcony in front of my room. The trees and plants contain the house, they grow around the walls of it. It’s what one would picture when one thinks, “garden house.” In the distance are mountains–they are a constant sight, surrounding you in the Andes....
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Month 1- Getting Grounded
Ian Herel
2016-10-04
The beginning of October has brought with it a major milestone in my journey here in Ecuador: the end of In-Country Orientation, the end of consistently seeing my fellow fellows, and most importantly the true beginning of my homestay and apprenticeship here in San Roque, Ecuador. Over the month of September, I developed a foundation for the truly transformative...
Read MoreFinding Love in a Foreign Language, Family, Community, People, and Culture
Jensine Raihan
2016-10-03
My Quito host mom finally pulled up onto the block I was waiting on. I was the last fellow on the street and I was very nervous. Why is she late? Will it be terribly awkward because I know zip Spanish? (Yes) When she came out of the car, I approached her and said hesitantly, “Muchu gustu,”...
Read MoreA Sara Synopsis: First Days in Quito, Ecuador
Sara Barac
2016-10-03
I leave for the San Francisco International Airport in roughly 5 hours, and I am now completely done with my Pre-Departure Training, sitting in a dorm in Stanford University trying to come to terms with the fact I am leaving behind everything I have ever known. I’ve never been more in my element. ...
Read MoreTo the stressed high school seniors club:
Sara Barac
2016-10-03
Dear high school seniors: Maybe you’re starting your college applications right now, or receiving your decisions, all of which is pretty tumultuous with pressure from your parents, teachers, peers, and even the universities you might or might not want to go to. You’re stressed out about essays and test scores and grades, things you can’t...
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Getting Settled in Paragachi, Ecuador
Dominic Snyder
2016-10-02
Three weeks ago, I received a piece of paper detailing my community placement in bullet points. From what I could glean, I was heading to a relatively small Ecuadorian community named Paragachi to live with a family of six and work for a local non-profit. Fast forward a week, and I entered a room where all of our...
Read MoreGap year? WTF?
Jensine Raihan
2016-10-02
I was sitting in my friend’s eccentric, beautiful, simple, and fresh aesthetic, literally “apartment GOALS” living room. It was a nice, warm Sunday afternoon in late April and we were doing a girls’ day in Brooklyn. I was with my sister, a year younger than me, my ever-since-middle-school best friend, and two of the raddest...
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6th week / 34
Fernanda Tornell
2016-10-01
I have been putting off writing this blog because I have had so many different experiences since I left home that its hard to put them into words. However, I have been taking plenty of pictures, to the point that I have to download them all to my computer on a weekly ritual and since...
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