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
The Bus
Emily Hockett
2014-03-10
Arriving at a seemingly random corner in Otavalo, I said goodbye to the other Global Citizen Year fellows in my region, and stepped onto the street. Nervously placing my backpack on the sidewalk, I looked around. A large yellow bus pulled up, and a family of four came out with flowers, balloons, and pineapple upside-down...
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The Market
Claire Wohlers
2014-03-10
Ibarra (the city nearest to Zuleta) has, hands down, the most impressive food market I have ever seen. Taking up two sizable city blocks, the market is overflowing with colors and scents unlike any other. From meats, to cheeses, to fruits and veggies, to flours and dried legumes, to eateries, this market has it all....
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Doing Laundry
Neil Singh
2014-03-10
Back in the States I used to hate doing my laundry. It was a long trek up the stairs and to my destination, burdened by my ponderous basket. Then, leaving a trail of dirty socks, I wrestled with my sworn enemy: the laundry room door. My back aching from such arduous labor, I placed my...
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A Smattering of Thoughts
Maria Gamache
2014-03-07
The relief of cool air hitting my skin, an almost empty bakery, and soft cowboy music-playing overhead tells me that it’s okay. Every time I sit down to write, my mind goes blank. It seems to have no problem racing late at night, persisting that I write my blog post about ‘x,’ or have my video revolve around ‘y,’...
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Tupac Naula, Poor Child #56487
Amanda Langan
2014-03-07
When I was about six or seven, I was always reminded of how lucky I was to live in a developed country by a small photo tacked on the fridge. It was of two little boys from the Dominican Republic, with a background of the typical falling down, crumbling painted school as they stood in...
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Normalcy
Alexandra Lines
2014-03-07
(Note: I talk about culture in this blog, and my personal observations of it. Please keep in mind that I draw my observations from generalizations and patterns of behavior, and that there is a great amount of personal variety in every country and in every culture, and that not all individuals will fit into the generalizations.)...
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The Chimborazo Confessions
JT Su
2014-03-06
Who is most likely to have a nightmare about anime? Who is also known as “The Wandering Man?” Who pictured two guinea pigs getting married? Who kept everyone waiting on the bus to make a Starbucks run? Who has a deep personal connection to an elephant sweater? Who always runs out of phone minutes within...
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Dar A Luz
Conner Evans
2014-03-06
On January 7, 2014 I got a new host brother. A little more than eight pounds, Martín Cardenás is cute, calm, and the joy of my host family. After a long day at work or tiring day at school, my host dad and host siblings always arrive shouting his name “Martín, Martín!” or as my...
Read MoreHere goes nothing
Lauren Rendler
2014-03-06
For three months now, I have been staring at a nearly blank page in my journal that I reserved for my very first in country blog post. The only words keeping it from being a flawless blank page read: “9/22/13 blog posts… need to write blog post ASAP” and some random doodles. Every time I...
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Only Jew For Miles
Eli Chanoff
2014-03-05
“Come, Eli, we schhk the xar now,” my host brother said, sliding a finger across his throat at the schhk sound. We communicate quite effectively through a combination of English, French, Wolof and hand motions. Xar (the ‘x’ is pronounced like the ‘ch’ in Channuka) is the Wolof word for sheep, and it has been one of the words I’ve used most often...
Read MoreOyga, Tienes Un Novio?
Valerie Hurst
2014-03-05
“Tienes un novio?”( do you have a boyfriend?) *I pensively weigh of my options, do I make one up?* “No” I reply. Surprise is apparent, the questioning continues. No boyfriend in Ecuador? In the States? Not even one in both? Smiling, and amused by the third option, I tell them “Soy un independiente mujer!” I’m...
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Los Diablitos
Sarai Patterson
2014-03-05
The world was enveloped in a misty grey drizzle the first time I stepped foot in my little yellow classroom to meet my supervisor, a short, matronly woman named Tania with a kind smile and endearingly mismatched clothing. I was confused at first; I’d thought that I would be teaching my own class. And all the sessions on education...
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