Check out the latest blogs from Global Citizen Year Fellows in Brazil, Ecuador, and India!
2009-10-13
Today we commuted entirely alone for the first time ever. Just the five fellows living in Santo Tomas Milpas Altas. The world didn’t seem to like that idea. Today Zuleika and I left the house twenty minutes late, knocked on Ian’s door to make sure he had left, and got to the bus stop at...
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The Senegalese hiss. I don’t quite understand why, but they hiss at you. They hiss at each other. They hiss at everybody. Instead of saying, “Hello!”, they just go “pssssst.” It’s how people in Senegal try to get your attention. And it’s not just because I’m American. They do that to each other. They hiss...
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I turned the corner and all of the sudden there was a wall of backs in front of me. What in the world! I thought, what are all of these people doing? I had just finished lunch at my host house and was on my way back to the Baobab Center for a Wolof lesson....
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I’ve never been very good at languages. I’ve always had a tough time learning them and mastering them. But knowing a language tells you so much about the culture of its people. Yes, the roots of it might be Germanic, or Arabic, or so on. Knowing that may tell you the influences and the roots...
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The habits of dinner are very very different here than they are in the US. It takes time to adjust, and I still haven’t quite adjusted to it. Breakfast and lunch are at pretty normal hours; whenever you wake up, which is around 8 or so, and around 1-2 respectively. However, dinner is just incredibly...
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Today after our regular Spanish and ixil classes went to a small town call San Antonio, Aguas Calientes (hot water) about 20 minutes away from Antigua. We meet with two women who are part of an organization called ” Ixel.” All done by hand they create very typical Mayan clothes as well as others that...
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I just read Alec’s post “Sodoku?!” and I must say that I have had the same experience here in Guatemala! The first night that I stayed in my homestay we watched The Fast & The Furious on TV. Though I had known my family for only a few hours, we chuckled at the same parts....
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“…After passing through what appeared it must be the last bit of civilization before the volcano, we came across this covered, but open-air shelter filled with over 20 men — as well as a few children holding marshmallows up to the bus window trying to wordlessly convince us to purchase the colorful, gooey treat. We...
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The chicken bus has changed my life. As you read this post, please keep in mind that on my commute home yesterday, I was carrying a bag of 12 eggs in my right hand. 3 of which were already broken. The “camionetas”, as they are affectionately called by Guatemalans, are a great way to start...
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