APPLY
  • Program
  • Admissions
  • Speakers
  • Alumni
  • About Us
APPLY
  • Why Join
  • Experience
  • Apprenticeships
  • South Africa
  • FAQs
  • Admissions
  • Tuition & Aid
  • Eligibility Quiz
  • Request Info
  • Alumni Stories
  • Community Hub
  • Fellowship
  • Academy
  • Our Story
  • Our Impact
  • Our Team
  • News & Press
  • For Educators
  • Donate

Poco a Poco

Today, I’m just quieter in general, so I’m getting less Spanish intake; yesterday’s exhaustion and headache justify my taking a break.  Today I am sitting next to Alejo, with the privilege of listening to his iPod with him.  With his twinkle-eyes and long eyelashes, he is trying to practice his English because he hopes to go to USA for his final year in university.  We all just stopped for a bottle of water and the bus driver is one of the people flirting with me.  Geh.  And yet it’s cool realizing that I’m sitting next to an Ecuadorian who I  don’t think of as lower, third-world, or separate as a human being.  I hope I take this with me for the rest of my life.

Now I am in the cutest little cottage for the night, and we are watching Paranormal Activity in Spanish while the three of

One of the Artisan's Lanterns at our Cottage Resort
Feasting for Dinner, every night

us take turns in the bathtub.  There is a fridge, kitchen counter, stove, utensils, bunk-bed and double bed and a brick fireplace… and the bathtub is called a Jacuzzi.  Quite a change from fiddling with hot water tap to alternately burn and freeze till I can rush to the coarse covers of my cot at night.

The morning wasn’t going so well, but it got better after a two-hour talk by a lady who thought very highly of the potential of women in the community, and was determined to talk directly to me.  It at least held my attention and I was surprised at how much I understood: however, it would have been quite awkward if she had discovered I hardly speak any Spanish.  Understanding it is different than speaking, but it’s alright because on different levels I am doing both.  I use some words more than I hear them, and sometimes I use fewer words than I know. But I’ve adopted a universal phrase from a German friend who spoke no English: poco a poco.Every thing will happen ” little by little.”

Priyanka Rao

About Priyanka Rao


At home in both San Jose, California, and Varanasi, India, Priyanka is truly bi-cultural. She enjoys journaling, dancing, and writing poetry. She helped start a Reading and Writing Club at her school, and her love of creative writing recently took her to the final round of the Gunderson Poetry Slam.

gcy logo
Take Action Lab
  • Why Join
  • Experience
  • Apprenticeships
  • South Africa
  • Take Action Lab FAQs
Academy
  • Why Join
  • Experience
  • Speakers
  • Academy Stories
  • Academy FAQs
Fellowship
  • Why Join
  • Experience
  • Destinations
  • Fellowship Stories
  • Fellowship FAQs
Admissions
  • Admissions
  • Tuition & Aid
  • Gap Year Resources
About Us
  • Our Story
  • Our Impact
  • Our Team
  • News & Press
  • For Educators
  • Community Hub
  • Instructor Hub
  • Careers

1625 Clay Street, Suite 400, Oakland, CA 94612
info@globalcitizenyear.org
415-963-9293

Have Admissions Questions?
Check out our FAQs or email our team at admissions@globalcitizenyear.org

Press Inquiries: Please contact Molly Weissman:
media@globalcitizenyear.org

Privacy Policy

© 2023 - Global Citizen Year