Global Citizen Year

Global Citizen Year is truly excellent at supporting fellows to the best of their ability. There's no uncertainty about where you are and who you are with. In this way, I always felt very safe and sure that if anything happened, they would be able to help me. The team leaders that I worked with were inspiring, hilarious, and incredibly caring. Sometimes the support was smothering, and the strict no alcohol rule was often frustrating. Sometimes non-emergency support was not very timely when fellows needed it. Often times, work placements were quite boring and did not know what to do with fellows. I had a fantastic homestay experience, but the same cannot be said for other fellows. Homestays can be very difficult, and GCY had a hard time finding new ones for fellows in a timely manner sometimes. All the same, every effort to help fellows engage in communities was made, and our bi-monthly "reconnects" were wonderful in their cultural and social immersion. If I could, I would absolutely do it again.

Words can never truly express what India was and is to me, nor can they ever do ultimate justice to all the amazing encounters, journeys, and memories from my life there. For me, going to India was never a question; living in another country was an obvious part of my future. But acknowledging the need for a selfish year was perhaps the ultimate challenge to embrace. I recognised the need for a year to step outside the societal expectations and limitiations to discover unknown elements and boundaries of my identity and being, reality and mentality. Recognising that I knew too little about 'Chantal' to even be there for myself, I decided to travel to India with Global Citizen Year. Not for this romanticised idea of spiritual journey in this unknown country, but because I was intrigued by the beautifully diverse intricacies of its reality, very much like my own psychology. My life in India was much more than 'being a part of a programme'. It was a true test of character, of values that I never had to justify before, a manifestation of the lifestyle I committed myself to when becoming a part of the United World College. It was a commitment to myself, valuing my existence and development, and a commitment to the world as a future resource. I hope and intend to return to India and congratulate my students in their own language, and celebrate their individual accomplishments. Being a super-proud didi. I hope to give back for all the things they gave and taught me.
I am only filled with immense gratitude for India for showing me all its colours, and for Global Citizen Year for making all the memories and learnings a reality.

Every time I sit down to write about my experience in India I find myself at a loss for words. It's funny because many times during my Global Citizen Year, I found myself at a loss for words. India is full of anomalies that left me with my jaw hanging on the ground. It was beautiful - ornate architecture, the serenity, the people. It was a mess - disparity, the chaos, the people. There is a saying in India; "What's said about India is true. But the opposite is equally as true," and I found that to be a recurring theme during my time there. Living in this world of extremes was difficult and even uncomfortable at times but needless to say, that is where personal growth comes from. To grow we must step out of our comfort zones and into our stretch zones and if you're someone who thinks they are ready to push themselves in ways they have not been pushed before, then I would like to quote an incredible writer. "Say YES!" -Tatiana Calonje. Not only was India kind enough to show me her mess of beauty, but she was able to show me the mess of beauty within myself.

My Global Citizen Year in India was the most responsible decision I could have ever made at the age of 19. The experience walks alongside me daily, gently reminding me of lessons and perspectives which ultimately have not only bettered me as person you may be meeting for the first time but also now as a student viewing the years of classwork before me entirely different than I did before. Global Citizen Year allowed me to grow and learn in ways I couldn't have had from any classroom, book, summit, event or reflection. The connections I made with my community were constantly expanding as my fluency in Hindi progressed and I began to truly care about the people who I lived with, worked with and interacted. My presence at my apprenticeship felt valued and I was able to build on a skill that at the end of the day had little to do with how well my voice carried in a loud room or how well I could hold the attention of over 40 preteens. It had all to do with my willingness to be versatile, patient and committed but above all to believe that we were all going to achieve something at the end of the day even if it was just cutting pictures out of a newspaper. It was 8 months in which I was constantly stimulated, uniquely challenged, inspired, interested, concerned, cared for and pushed in ways only Global Citizen Year could have granted. What may be seen as a risky and unreasoned decision to some became the beginning of a momentum and bond that carries into my pursuit of higher education and holds strong thousands of miles away.

Say YES!

Everyday I think back on my Global Citizen Year experience. I find that my thoughts, words, and actions are results of year and a program which guided me to grow in ways I never knew possible.
I spent my year living in Senegal in the Kedougou region. I had a wonderful host family who were excited to show me their world. In my education apprenticeship I established an art program at the elementary school and assisted in English classes at the middle school. I progressed in my study of the French language and learned a new language, Pular (a language I didn't even know existed until joining the program, wild thought, right?).
What is vital to understand about Global Citizen Year is that when you return home you will perhaps be able to produce a succinct list of what you did, as I have above, but what you will crave to share is who you have become, the realizations about the world, the thoughts you've had and the choices you've made.
Global Citizen Year does a fantastic job in providing the structure to support and guide you to accomplish exterior and personal goals. I entered the year hoping to get some work done, start programs, learn languages. Global Citizen Year was happy to help me take action, but simply paused and asked for my thoughts as well.
I learned to actively build relationships with my host community, host family, and within the cohort I traveled with.
Global Citizen Year does not have an agenda of values or skills it wants to give you, Global Citizen Year provides the structures and means to define and achieve your own personal value, skills, and goals.

While considering the program, do not overlook the undeniable beauty of the four countries: Senegal, Brazil, India, and Ecuador. Although I am partial to Senegal, as my own host country, the stories fellows brought back from all the other countries increased my desire to visit those countries as well.
The ability to live as a member of a family in a foreign country, to learn about culture and language from the very people to whom that language and culture is as natural as breathing is invaluable.
It is a once in a lifetime opportunity that will open the door to many more once-in-a-lifetime experiences.