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
On Building Yourself from Scratch: Notes from Quito, Ecuador
Sophia Pandelidis
2016-09-29
I am not myself here. At least not yet. They say your identity may change or be challenged outside your context. They say you might be a different person–but maybe for a while you don’t feel like a person at all, just an outline with blank space in the middle. A clean slate may seem...
Read MoreYup, I Ate The Guinea Pig
Sahar Thomson
2016-09-24
I hopped off of the bus at my stop in Santa Ana, a rural parish in Cuenca. I had been holding eight bags of garlic, I will now take the time to apologize to the person who sat next to me on the bus and had to inhale me for 15 minutes. The garlic was for the 7...
Read MoreMy first culture shock
Ana Gvozdic
2016-09-22
My first culture shock probably has nothing to do with culture. I’d say it has more to do with what we call the economic class or perhaps the distance from a city. Either way, I will refer to it as a culture shock, as this is a cultural immersion program, and the concept of...
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The start of a new chapter
Benoit Dupras
2016-09-21
For the past few weeks, I’ve been exploring the tourist side of Quito, of Ecuador; people do not expect me to be more than a gringo, a passing white visitor. My past blog posts (actually all of them), have strictly been about my personal experiences. However, Even if I don’t like being seen as a...
Read MorePreDeparture Training 2016
Lily Jorrick
2016-09-20
(All photos courtesy of Jasen Lo) Pre-departure training is an integral part of Global Citizen Year, as it’s the first time that the fellows come together as a global cohort. We spend half of our time in the Redwoods of Northern California, and the other half at Stanford University in Palo Alto. These first eight...
Read MoreUnknowns
Claire Reichle
2016-09-19
I am nervous. That part is for sure. That is one of the only things I am certain of at this point. I am nervous because I know that once I leave, I will never be the same person I was. I will never feel the exact same ways I did at home, in my...
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When Adventure Calls
Noa Bridson
2016-09-17
Here I am sitting in a complete foreign city, crunched in a ball because of "traveler's stomach", feeling lost in culture I don't know and stifled by a language I can't speak. Yet if you asked me how I feel I would answer without hesitation "happier than ever!!" You see adventure isn't comfortable, it isn't...
Read MorePeaks and Valleys (literally)
Aden Fischer-Brown
2016-09-15
Almost exactly one month ago, I welcomed you to this blog with a short, informational, and gif-filled post. I now sit on my bed in an apartment in Quito, trying to reflect on the past 33 days while the evening news blares from the TV in my host mother’s room and my family’s two perritas,...
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On Visiting Gorée Island by Jabari Kamau Gambrel
Jabari Gambrel
2016-09-14
On Visiting Gorée Island by Jabari Kamau Gambrel As the boat rocked against the tide I looked pass the metal rails that bound me to this island and into the water searching for the faces of my ancestors. I imagined them arriving to this place, carrying fear in their bellies and the uncertainty of a...
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