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
Never Make Friends with the Pigs: 21 Things I’ve Learned from Living in Ecuador
Kali Nelson
2014-11-21
It is the slowest pace of life, EVER…”Ecuatime” is real, people! Life has never been more intriguing. A different way to love. The completely selfless love that my host family, and English students, and everyone has. The love that cannot be put into words but only felt, the love that warms rooms (which is more...
Read More
Familia
Eustacia Meyer
2014-11-21
I have been living with my family for nearly two months now. I still can’t get over it, two months and this still feels like a dream. The biggest success in my life here has to be my family. I have gotten so close to many members in the family and love to just sit...
Read More
Festivities of Cuenca
Aliya Habib
2014-11-21
Fridays nights are usually spent in the yogurt room outside the house. Two huge vats await my host mom and other women, ready to turn plain yogurt into delicious concoctions. This Friday night was a little more special because in two days, it would be the Independence Day of Cuenca and we were in full...
Read More
6. Mango Tree Revelations
Sophia Richter
2014-11-21
When I first arrived in Thiadiaye in the beginning of October, everything was new and fresh and begging for my attention. Yaay would take me to the Luma (the farmers’ market of Senegal) and every basket was full of vegetables, every table laden with fresh fish, every tent offering colorful cloth, and beautiful jewelry, and...
Read More
The Most Important Choice
Bennett Quintard
2014-11-21
A few weeks ago I started my apprenticeship at an organic finca (farm) about 20 minutes outside of my community of El Juncal. Below are my first two experiences at my new job: Experience 1: Due to my decision to stay up late the night before, I was running on six hours of sleep as...
Read More
Learning to Love
Aliana Ruxin
2014-11-21
I’m learning to love 8:00 AM rotisserie chicken on market days. Coated with herbs and freshly cooked, it really does taste good. It also really does wake up my taste buds, smacking them with a burst of flavor in the morning that is becoming more familiar every week. Saturday market days begin with the beeps...
Read More
Losing “They”, Living “We”, Becoming Me
Alice Brower
2014-11-21
This blog first appeared on the Everyday Ambassador Blog as a part of Wednesday Wisdom. “Everyday Ambassador is a network of global citizens who believe that human connection, even in an increasingly digital world, is the key to lasting, positive social change. Everyday Ambassador visions a world in which all travelers and volunteers approach the...
Read More
In Need of Grace
Alice Brower
2014-11-21
A small cloud of hot sand followed my swift steps as I walked home from teaching preschool. As I reached my gate I saw sema yaay (my mother in Wolof) regally dressed in a vibrant pink and blue boubou sitting below our lemon tree in her plastic lawn chair. As I approached her, my shoulders...
Read More
Good and Bad Do Not Exist
Jillian Doke
2014-11-21
I woke up before the crack of dawn to groggily slide my way into the backseat of my brother-in-law’s truck, squeezing in four sisters with me. As we were making our way to Cotopaxi for a giant parade, I looked out the window into the sky that was still dark, and saw Mount Cumbaya rising through...
Read More