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
Discovering Capoeira
Karyn Miller
2010-10-08
“Hoje a noite, nos vamos ver capoeira com Tony.” I told my host mother in choppy, simplistic Portuguese. “Tonight, we go to see capoeira with Tony.” She smiled, “Ah…capoeira, sim!” Yes. If you don’t know what capoeira is, I highly suggest a YouTube search. But here’s a little background: First, you should know that Salvador,...
Read MoreI Wonder…
Kedisha Samuels
2010-10-06
Even with a set definition the question can still be asked, what does it mean to be content? What does it mean to be satisfied with what you have and the position you play in life? I often find myself brooding over these questions and the truth is the answer will defer for everyone. I...
Read MoreFirst Culture Shock
Emily Hess
2010-10-06
“It’s good, it’s good,” I keep telling my host mother in French. I really don’t know what else to say. Literally; I can’t actually say much else than that. But I’m learning. Not to sound cliché, and I really tried to look for another way to put this, but these last few days have been, dare...
Read MoreInfinity
Lily Shaffer
2010-10-06
Quito, Ecuador. How can I describe it to you? My home is at the base of a volcano, Pichincha. I am terrified of driving in anything but a big bus because the traffic has no rules. In the morning, it’s warm and sunny and I can see Cotopaxi, a stunning snow-capped volcano, the tallest active...
Read MoreSuch Great Heights
Joe Giallo
2010-10-06
Estoy aqui. Or, in English, I’m here. In Quito, Ecuador. Well, that’s one way to look at it, anyway. I’m also here: at the start of something so vast I can’t really conceive the full implications, even now, inside the country. These last two days have been increiblisimos, and I’m more than a little overwhelmed....
Read MoreFirst Post
Meg Healy
2010-10-04
Earlier this week the fellows journeyed to San Francisco to learn about empathy. We spent six hours exploring the often-avoided Tenderloin neighborhood to talk to people and to hear stories in order to better understand homelessness and some of its causes. As a native of Petaluma and frequent visitor of San Francisco, I was somewhat...
Read MoreI’ve Bought In
Madeleine Balchan
2010-10-04
“So what is the US Training Institute?” Over the summer as friends asked me to explain GCY’s plan for these two weeks in San Francisco, I gave vague answers like “team building” or “understanding GCY as an organization and their goals”. My guesses adequately described the first few days. They came short of articulating the...
Read MoreComplimentary Contradictions
Naomi Wright
2010-10-04
Even at nine in the morning it’s 75°C, so I welcomed the realization that the shower’s “hot” knob didn’t mean there was hot water. Nevertheless, its coldness shocked me when I raised the nozzle to my face. I breathed in, sharply. For whatever reason, it was in that moment that I understood what fifteen hours...
Read MoreNanga def? Maangi fi rekk! (Some spellcheck unavailable)
Gus Ruchman
2010-10-04
Humidity greeted us before Anta did. Stepping onto the tarmac of Leopold Senghor Airport was exhilarating and liberating after what seemed like months in anxious transit in our sealed cabin of South African Air flight 914 en route to Johannesburg. However, we understood immediately that we were strangers in a strange land as airport officials...
Read MoreFlight Write
Peter Saudek
2010-10-04
I am on the final flight of the day from Atlanta to Quito. No matter how many times I tell myself I’m going to spend the next seven months in Ecuador it’s still surreal. When I boarded the plane I quickly realized my skin and hair are lighter than most of the people’s on this...
Read MoreThemes
Karyn Miller
2010-10-04
There are a few key ideas I’ve picked up on over the course of the past two weeks: Open-mindedness This was our advice to ourselves from the beginning of the training, and it was frequently echoed by speakers and staff. It’s a fundamental part of immersing yourself in a new culture: a willingness to hear...
Read MoreA Simple Start
Tess Langan
2010-10-03
Growing up I had a purple bedroom and my own closet and toy chest. I had a book shelf and a duvet cover and a sally the camel toy that got to sleep snuggled with me. In New York City when I went to visit my grandmother, the streets were dotted with the homeless. Grammy...
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