First-Year Global Jumbos

The Blog of the Tufts 1+4 Bridge Year and Tufts Civic Semester

Tufts 1+4 Ecuador

by Christopher, Tufts 1+4 Participant I laid on my bed in the humid hostel room as the dry bed sheets stuck onto my sweaty back. The whole room reeked of body odor from the day-old damp bathing suits hanging on the towel rack in the bathroom and some hidden in […]

Disfrutar La Vida, Paso a Paso

This entry was posted in 2019-2020 Tufts 1+4 Fellows Tufts 1+4 Bridge Year Tufts 1+4 Ecuador on May 18, 2020

by Luke, Tufts 1+4 Participant A dirty diaper falls and squishes against my pant leg as I catch it on the way down. Screams pierce through the already chaotic din, demanding attention. A bowl soars through the air, its contents scattering across the floor. It’s just another day at the […]

Lessons from Toddlers

This entry was posted in 2019-2020 Tufts 1+4 Fellows Tufts 1+4 Bridge Year Tufts 1+4 Ecuador on May 10, 2020

By Abigail, Tufts 1+4 Participant My hands struggle to remain steady as they carefully transcribe each character into my notebook. My feet, propped up on the metal rail in front of me, try to keep balance as the bus races down the hill, turning sharply and stopping every few seconds […]

Bus Chat

This entry was posted in 2019-2020 Tufts 1+4 Fellows Tufts 1+4 Bridge Year Tufts 1+4 Ecuador on May 1, 2020

by Luke, Tufts 1+4 Participant The moment had finally arrived. Abuelita Carmen, Julian, Emilio, and I looked out onto the single, empty landing strip—waiting, waiting, waiting. After four months I was about to see my family from the States face-to-face again. Would they recognize me? Would they notice how I […]

A Collision of Worlds

This entry was posted in 2019-2020 Tufts 1+4 Fellows Tufts 1+4 Bridge Year Tufts 1+4 Ecuador on April 14, 2020

by Christopher, Tufts 1+4 Participant As Christmas of my bridge year approached, I wasn’t in the Christmas spirit at all. For the first time, I wasn’t going to be with my family on Christmas. I briefly fantasized that my family would surprise me with a Christmas visit, but I knew […]

The Pizza

This entry was posted in 2019-2020 Tufts 1+4 Fellows Tufts 1+4 Bridge Year Tufts 1+4 Ecuador on February 1, 2020

By Kaylee, Tufts 1+4 Participant I don’t think I quite thought through the omnipresence of language in everyday life until I faced the language barrier in Ecuador. Even though English is technically my second language, by the time I was 5 it surpassed my level of Chinese proficiency (which on […]

A Silver Lining in Feeling Stupider

This entry was posted in 2019-2020 Tufts 1+4 Fellows Tufts 1+4 Bridge Year Tufts 1+4 Ecuador on January 17, 2020

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