Volume 1, Issue 3

Dear YLI Supporter,
Youth Leaders International is proud to present the third issue of the Leaders' EZINE. The EZINE is constantly moving forward and this edition has a few new features. This edition includes the first Chapter Feature; a new regular part of the EZINE in which we shall explore the multitude of chapters in the YLI community – when they started, how they operate, and their country/city. The second new feature is the HQ Update; a regular feature written by YLI HQ that will explain what has been happening in the YLI Community – decisions being made, new chapters, and new situations. This will give YLI's Leadership an opportunity to share with the students, counsellors, and supporters what is going on in the constantly expanding organization. Following a suggestion by Luisa Jimenez from the Manila Chapter, another section was added that will have a new phrase every month that is translated into as many languages as can be found. Finally, in each issue there will be a cartoon/comic for your enjoyment and other art and photos of interest.
If you are interested in writing or creating artwork for the Leaders' EZINE, please feel free to email the EZINE staff at yli.ezine@leaders.org.
Many thanks to those who contributed the Leaders' EZINE. I'm certain you will enjoy this third issue,

Mr. Charles J. Hall
Editor - Leaders' EZINE
yli.ezine@leaders.org

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Why a Human is like a Lychee
Daniel McNamara - Melbourne Chapter (Class of 2005)

One fact, one comparison, so bleedingly obvious that it escapes most people, is that a human is like a lychee*. Just as a termite reminds me of a laser printer, and as a curtain is not unlike an abominable monster, so is a human like a lychee.
Let's have a look at the physical characteristics of both things in question; both have a tough skin for protection. A lychee might use its skin to prevent itself from being thrown around in a delivery truck or from being eaten by insects.
A human, on the other hand, uses its skin to keep in feelings or emotions welling up inside its body. A human's skin makes sure that its owner reveals an only very small amount.
But inside the tough skin of a lychee lies a soft pink flesh, as fragile as a newborn baby. This is where the true nature of the fruit lies; it may be ripe and sweet or unripe and bitter. But, however, the average fruit-eater must simply trust in the fact that the lychee they are about to eat will be pleasing to the palate.

Not only does a human's flesh look physically similar to that of a lychee, but it also has the same essential character. Beneath a human's skin lies a more fragile being, in the end not as tough and untouchable as the outside world might be led to believe. Again, one can only have faith in the good intentions of a person; one must make the leap of faith without fear.
Finally, at the centre of our lychee in question lies the heart, a small black pip. It is the seed of all growth, all sweetness, all bitterness, and drives everything inside the fruit. The taste of the flesh, the texture of the skin, is all controlled by the genetic make-up inside the central pip.
A human's heart is much the same; without it beating, neither the body nor the mind can function. Its nature decides everything about the person. A person's heart is of paramount importance to their existence.
So, you see, my comparison is quite valid, and brings forward some deep philosophical questions:
Why are we here?
Does God exist?
Is a human like a lychee?

* Eds Note: a Lychee is a fruit found in China and California.

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Hotels, Customer Service, and other Oddities
Charles Hall - Montreal Chapter (Class of 2006)

Most of you are going to be going to with the WLC, WCE, or LST this year and will be staying in a hotel or equivalent. I just got back from a competition on the other end of Canada and I was astounded by one quality of the hotel and of other that's I've been in during my travels. The walls. They're terrible!! They are so thin that I could take a chunk of the wall and use it as toilet paper! With any luck, you can get "Turn down the volume on your TV!" walls. If you are less fortunate, you get "Turn down the brightness on your TV!" walls. But you know, these hotels and motels can turn absolutely anything into a sales pitch to stick on their signs. For example, you can find a sign saying "Color TV" (Ooooooo, what a novelty, if you live in the sixties). And "Outdoor Pool" (I think the "outdoor" feature is a nice added touch, especially in Canada*, don't you?) And how about "Free Parking" signs which is really a way of saying that "You don't have to park your car in your room!
Yet another thing that amuses me every time I travel around is the stores and the employees that you'll find there. After hours of analyzing the situation I feel that I have now found a theory. There are four types of customer service that you'll find in stores and via the phone. For example, when you walk into a store you are attacked, before you can say "buzz off" by a salesperson asking, "Can I help you?" You respond, "No, thanks." Then you are asked the same question by another salesman and then you give the same reply. Then a third one attacks you with the same question and is heralded with the same answer. Finally, when the store runs out of salespeople they finally let you see their merchandise! I call this type of service "in-your-face-customer-service". Other stores take the opposite approach to service. You're looking for the right sized adapter for your cd player and you look for help in aisle three. Nobody there. Aisle four? Still nobody. Aisle five? Nope. Aisle six? Seven? Fifty-six? I call this "run-for-cover-customer-service". Then there is the bike shop that welcomes you with open arms when your bike is sounding like a lawn mower. "It just needs a routine cleaning. We charge $30 for that," the friendly salesman says. Then he lowers his voice, "But you could probably do it yourself..." You thank him for his helpfulness. The salesman beams with pride while thinking, "Yup, I thought that up all by myself. Whenever a customer tries to fix something at home, we make a whole lot more money the next day. Think my boss will give me a raise for this?" This is called "do-it-yourself-extortion". Then there is the occasion when you're reminded that the lawn is full of bugs and that you should call the pesticide company.
"Ok, I'll call them right after I answer the phone. Hello?"
"Hello, this is your pesticide company. When would you like your annual spraying?"
"How did you know? Well, as soon as possible. Hold on, that's the door bell."
"Hello, this is the pesticide spraying guy."
"But, you were just on the phone."
"You said ASAP, so here I am!"
That, is called "customer-service-on-steroids".
No piece of humour is complete without a top-ten list. So I decided that since my theme seems to be about the exploiting things that I'd write one about oxymorons. Here are my favourite ten oxymorons…
10. Act naturally
9. Resident alien
8. Advanced BASIC
7. Genuine imitation
6. Airline food
5. Same difference
4. Almost exactly
3. Government organization
2. Rap music
1. Microsoft® Works

* Eds note: Temperatures in Canada go as low as -70oC (-56 oF) in the winter…

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Pilgrimage
Luisa Jimenez- Manila Chapter (Class of 2006)

It was four years since I had last been in Pakil, Laguna* with my family. When I was younger, we would visit our ancestral home there every Holy Week. We haven't been able to go these past few years, so I looked forward to seeing the charming town again last Holy Thursday.
Stepping out of the car after a gruelling four-hour drive, I was relieved to finally breathe the fresh, clean air of the province. Although Laguna is only a few miles from Metro Manila, the surroundings could not have been more different. Rice paddies stretched out on one side, Laguna Bay stretched out on the other. The city, seen from across the bay, seemed like a different world. Even the food in Pakil tasted otherworldly; the ingredients seemed fresher, as if they came straight from the sea or the ground.
Entering my grandmother's house in Pakil on Holy Thursday is like entering a bar during Happy Hour. This is because of a certain Filipino tradition, called pabasa. Every Holy Week, women (and sometimes some men) of all ages gather to sing the entire story of "Christ's Passion and Death" in Tagalog**. There is no prescribed melody, so each person is entitled to sing to her (or his) own tune and rhythm. In some places, the readers become so impassioned with their singing that they battle each other, trying to drown out the others with their own rendition of the Pasyon. Thankfully, the women in Lola's house have learned to sing as one, even somewhat creating harmony.
During the ladies' pabasa, my family and I headed to the town square to visit the church. At this point, I was shocked to see many changes since our last visit. For one thing, the area in front of the church was now converted into a tiangge, or a small marketplace. What was once a basketball court was now filled with stalls selling everything from candles to papier-mâché horses to plastic toys. Next, we entered the rather dilapidated old church that was built during the time of the Spanish colonization. At least I expected it to be dilapidated. I got another surprise when we entered, discovering that the inside was newly renovated. I was pleased to see the once crumbling interiors refurbished and the crackling murals restored.

We stayed for a few minutes, praying, surveying church's new look and watching other devotees recite the Way of the Cross with their own families. Looking around, I was amazed to see that the churchgoers wer e from all walks of life. There were the citizens of Pakil, Laguna, as well as those from Manila who, like us, traveled a long way just to visit their hometown. What amazed me even more was the realization that everyone was related, a fact that I had almost forgotten. Each person who made a pilgrimage to that church during Holy Week could trace his or her ancestral roots to this tiny town in the province. It's a uniquely Filipino characteristic to have a sense of affinity with even the most distant of relatives. And at that moment, I could really feel a connection with Pakil and all its inhabitants. As we pulled out of the barrios that afternoon, I thought to myself, "This is what it feels like to be a Filipino."

*Eds Note: Pakil, Laguna is a small provincial town, in a small corner of the Philippines.
**Eds Note: Tagalog is one of the major languages spoken in the Philippines, mostly by people from the Tagalog regions in the main island of Luzon. Check out TAGALOG 2002

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Phrase of the Month

Many thanks to the dozens of you who contributed to the phrase of the month. The following is the phrase "how much does this cost?" translated into as many languages as YLI members were able to provide. Enjoy!

English - How much does this cost?
French - Combien ça coûte?
ça coûte combien?
German - Was kostet das?
Spanish - ¿Cuánto cuesta esto?
Romanian - Cat costa asta?
Italian - Quanto costa?
Turkish - Bunun fiyati ne kadar?
Bu coca?
Bangla - Eytaar daam kotho?
Japanese - Ikura desu ka?
Russian - сколько это стоит?
Hebrew - Kama ze ole?
כמה זה עולה
Filipino - Magkano ba toh?
Magkano ito?
Portuguese - Quanto isto custa?

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Chapter Feature: Manila
Deanne R. Banares (Class of 2007)

The YLI Manila Chapter is one of the youngest among all the chapters participating in YLI. Its beginnings can be traced to March 2004 when Mr. Elias Akram, a YLI Director, came to Manila and met with Mr. Dennis Cunanan, then the Presidential Assistant for Youth Affairs who became the YLI-Philippine Country Lead Counsellor, and Atty. Francisco Yabut, then Executive Director to Mr. Cunanan and who later came to be the counsellor of Class 2006. By May of 2004, after approval by the YLI's Board of Directors, the Manila Chapter was officially in existence. Atty. Yabut hurriedly started to recruit members to make it in time for the July World Leaders Conference. Soon enough, six students were chosen to comprise the pioneer students of Class 2006. They had so much to do in so little time. Almost every day, despite the opening of classes in June, the six girls practiced for their Country Presentation. Fortunately, being the responsible and diligent people that they are, they completed all the requirements and did everything that they needed to do for the WLC 2004!
There was more time to select the next class of delegates comprising the Class of 2007. The selection process started around September 2004, By January, the members of Class 2007 were finally selected. Together with Class 2006, we came to be a very close and tightly knit group. The first class has been very helpful in providing tips and advice to the newest class. Meetings are conducted "professionally", like a typical board meeting with a prepared agenda, minutes being taken, and the proceedings just like in a business meeting. But our meetings are far from boring and stiff! We comply with all our duties in the meetings but at the same time, we still have a lot of fun even as we learn a lot from each other. Everyone is, of course, allowed to express her own ideas and give suggestions. Together we work as a class, as a chapter, and as a team. We also support each other in all our projects and activities. We never fail to help one another. Because of all the hard work we put into all the requirements, people always give us kudos. Through our meetings and activities, our leadership skills are being honed and sharpened.
The YLI Manila Chapter represents the Philippines, a country of 7,100 beautiful islands and 83 million smiles. Lying at the center of the Far East, our archipelagic country shows off beauty in every horizon – lovely beaches, majestic mountains, inspiring sunsets, and more. Our culture is a mixture of Malay, Spanish, Chinese and American influences – all combining to make up what is uniquely Filipino. Indeed, the culture and traditions are as varied as the blood that runs through our veins. But most of all, what makes the Philippines beautiful are the people. We never fail to be recognized as the most hospitable or the friendliest. We always greet each other with a smile. We always treat each other, especially our elders, with respect and care. We give our families the highest importance. In a recent survey of 50 nations, the Philippines ranked among the 10 happiest nations and the only Asian nation in the top 10. So, put together a beautiful country with friendly people- you'll get the Philippines. And the YLI Manila Chapter is proud to represent our country.

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LST: Cambridge 2004
Priyanka Nair - Melbourne Chapter (Class of 2004)

Apart from serving as a place for the Class of 2004 to have their last bit of fun together before graduating from YLI, the LST was our taste of college life as well as a place for learning about some skills which many of us consider to be the finer points of adult life, such as finance, relationships and personal development. Part of personal development at the LST included our Career Research Reports which I found to be great preparation for university. Doing the research about career options and requirements for physiotherapy, the career I am interested in, gave me a sense of direction throughout Yr 12 whilst also informing me about requirements I had to fulfill to do what I wanted.
The location for the LST in 2004 was changed from Wadham College, Oxford to Girton College in Cambridge. After having heard of how much the Class of 2004 enjoyed being able to use the facilities of Cambridge University's Girton College, YLI has chosen to use the college as the location for future LSTs. Thanks to this decision, future generations of YLI can look forward to being able to play the similar soccer matches where Australia learns to cope with defeat on the college's soccer and cricket grounds just as we did. If that doesn't sound to your taste, then there's the pool, the food in the grand hall or the walking tracks through English fields and woods where rabbits are not pests but native animals.
Away from the college, highlights included our experiences in the university town of Cambridge as well as those in London. In Cambridge, we viewed some of the more spectacular looking colleges such as Kings from punts on the Cam River and also took part in the intensely fun City Challenge, which proved to be an activity that taught us a lot about ourselves and the joys of team work. There was also a day dedicated to London, which began with a tour and was made all the more memorable with three whole hours of free time to see whatever we wanted before dinner at a London restaurant. Overall, the three years of leadership training and accumulated friendships with YLI could not have concluded in a better way. All we hoped for was that the LST would achieve the impossible of topping the WCE and it did. The LST 2004 was a grand success and the Graduation where everyone dressed up on the last night, followed by the dance party and the endless talking until we sadly had to part with each other will always stay with me.

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HQ update: Upcoming fun!

The staff at YLI World Headquarters are busily preparing for the 2005 International Programs. We hope that you are every bit as excited as we are for the fun and adventure!

This year's WLC will combine some of the traditional activities such as the Country Presentations, fantastic guest speakers and classroom learning activities with some fresh new aspects sprinkled into the mix. Be sure to get a head start with your chapter in preparing your Country Presentations. It's a chance to showcase everything from the traditional to the modern in your home country. Make it a presentation that will make your peers excited to add your home country to their list of places to visit!

For our second year students, we've got a jam-packed schedule traveling through the land of the Vikings and Trolls – Norway! No WCE adventure is ever the same thanks to the students and counselor attending! We will see the beautiful fjords that the Vikings once gazed upon from their dragon-headed vessels, walk the same streets where the merchants and their apprentices traveled carrying fish and other tradable goods and maybe you might even catch a glimpse of a troll in the hills of the mountains! You'll not want to close your eyes for a second of this trip!

The Class of 2005 will graduate from the YLI program upon successful completion of the LST week. The LST is designed to help you plan the best path to success, no matter what your goals may be. You will learn your personality type, apply ancient and modern philosophies into your own life and gain the confidence needed to stand strong on your own two feet. It's a jungle out there! We know that you will be beaming with pride as your counselors, classmates and the YLI Staff watch you prepare to embark on to the next level of growth as you accept your YLI diploma.

YLI HQ will be sending out ezines in the future that offer exclusive sneak-peeks at the three international programs as well as important packing tips and reminders over the course of the next few months. So keep an eye out for the YLI ezines to find out what exciting things are in store for you!