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Aissatou Tagaty Badio

Tagaty is passionate about music, fashion, history, philosophy, writing, food, and movies. She is involved in human rights activism, gender equity, sustainable education and many more volunteering work. While attending UWC Changshu China, she developed a passion for social justice, international development and politics. She doesn't have a specific career path, but instead has goals she wishes to achieve in life, such as tackling toxic masculinity and climate change awareness in African countries. Her goals for the year are to fully grasp the Senegalese culture, learn new stories about its people, and get involved with the community in an impactful way. "Can't blend in when you're born to stand out" - Unknown

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The struggles of coming back

Aissatou Tagaty Badio

2019-05-06

It’s funny to see that, when we first arrived in our sites in-country, we were crying because we didn’t want to stay. We all cried at the end because we didn’t want to leave. Now I’m back home and everything feels surreal. I used to find comfort in rooftops. I spent 8 months on rooftops...

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The perks of being a wallpaper

Aissatou Tagaty Badio

2019-03-26

It’s a typical Saturday afternoon in Khombole. Pawla just picked me up from my house like she always does, and we are both on our way to Nisha’s house. One important thing to note about Pawla is that EVERYONE knows her in Khombole. I cannot put two steps together without hearing “Yaye Fatouuuu!”, her Senegalese...

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The calm during the storm

Aissatou Tagaty Badio

2019-03-19

March 2019 I wanna go home. It is 9:03 AM. I am sitting down in the middle of my room, looking at my screen. I just paused my music to listen to the birds’ singing. The melody is sereine, ecstatic and it gives me a sense of melancholy. It’s cold, no, it’s freezing, and I...

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10 things I wish they told me before coming to Khombole

Aissatou Tagaty Badio

2019-03-19

February 2019 1. Senegalese summers are hot, and when I say hot, I mean waking up dripping in sweat at 3 AM because there was a power cut and your lovely fan stopped working. 2. There is some kind of “winter” in here. It gets very cold and windy during late nights and early mornings....

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The art of not doing anything

Aissatou Tagaty Badio

2018-11-23

October 2018 “Take this upstairs and I’ll join you in a few” say my mother as I was standing in the middle of the corridor, freshly awoken and slightly confused. In my head, I tell myself: “Wait, there is an upstairs?” She then points the stairs right next to me, in the middle of the...

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Thrown under a bus

Aissatou Tagaty Badio

2018-11-23

September 2018 Every time I hop on a moving vehicle, I get sick. That is quite ironic, because I love care rides, with either the radio blasting or music plugged into my ear while staring at the landscape. This time, during the family drop-off procedure, I opted for the latter, although I didn’t have much...

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Welcome to my blog!

Aissatou Tagaty Badio

2018-10-18

Welcome to my Global Citizen Year blog! Subscribe and follow along on on my adventures during my gap year abroad.

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