http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=twqM56f_cVo

I thought you'd like it and we could use it for IDCIdols :)

#12 We're midway to the end.. crazy

Half way done.. WOW.. that means quarter of my exchange is over!!


Well first of all.. now it is easier for me to speak english! Because I got used to the language.. I still don't know everything but I am not afraid to talk to people I don't know anymore.. It doesn't make it better if people laugh at me but some of them stopped so it is getting better ;)


I don't know what kind of leader I am becoming.. I still have to figure that out! But I think I am more a quiet leader who leads in the background!


I learned that you don't have to do everything on your own.. I used to think when I do it on my own I can make sure that it will turn out the way I want it to! But I learned that if somebody helps you it might not turn out the way you wanted it.. but different.. and maybe in a better way! If everybody puts their ideas together there can be one really good and big idea!


Sometimes I feel like everything is too much for me.. It is not easy to be that far away from family and friends! But I have to learn that I have to leave that behind for a second and concentrate on what is going on now and here.. thinking about them doesn't make the distance smaller! 
Time goes by so fast.. midway to the end of the first semester.. it's crazy!


We did a lot!!.. Orientation Week, Halloween Week, Haunted House, Challenge Week, .. and there will come more and I am sure we will still do an amazing job! Everybody helped (a little bit).. without this help IDCI would not be IDCI..

#10 Marc's Story

He had doubts.. He wanted to quit..
But this little boy changed his mind! And because this little boy changed his mind.. he changed his life!


To see people die is not easy for sure! He lived in Bangkok for a few years, teaching kids english, help at the AIDS ward and had the experience of his life..
I am impressed how he managed that! I am here in Ingersoll and it is no easy for me.. He is a strong person and must have an amazing personality!
To stay after his first day at the AIDS ward and his experience to see somebody die and to know that you will never learn this person's name, that must be the hardest decision of his life!
The first impressions of Bangkok, when he saw all the rich people, the expensive cars and all the skyscrapers.. I would be disappointed! I don't know why but that was the first thing that came to my mind when I read that part: "I would be disappointed.. " 


I think it would be the best experience to celebrate a birthday with all the boys (the story that was mentioned in the book).. to see how happy they are to have a new friend who they can share their peanuts and watermelons with! If somebody of us would have peanuts and watermelons for their birthday.. I don't think we would be that happy! 
EVERYTHING IS AMAZING BUT NOBODY IS HAPPY!


Keith Taylor's story is another really really impressing story..
Not everybody would move from his apartment to have more money.. well maybe there are some people who would do that! But there wouldn't be that many who would do that to have money to help OTHERS..
They would do it to buy more cloths or better cloths or a new phone or whatever..
He started small but his web side grew and became an organization!.. Pretty impressing!!

#11 The Haunted House

Project Design Skills

My group was responsible for the entrance. Because of the whole story this part of the haunted house was happy and not creepy. So we decorated everything with coloured paper. I cut big and small circles out of the paper. We stuck them on the wall with tape. I tried to hang up the black curtains but I was a little bit too small so I passed this job on.

Identifying and Dealing with barriers

My group was supposed to do the first room too.. but Justin started planning everything though he wasn’t in our group.. we all were a little bit confused and didn’t know what to do so we asked you what to do and you told us just to leave it.. in the end my group didn’t need my help anymore (because we were more or less done) so I helped a little bit everywhere so we get everything done!

Interpersonal Skills

In my group we worked all together… we all shared our ideas and tried to put everything together so everybody is happy. Everybody from the group I was in had really good ideas so it was not that hard to agree with them ;)

Understanding & Working with Diversty

Everybody had his own ideas.. some were better than others but I think we all tried to combine everything to get a big amazing thing.. Some of us did everything to get their room ready and done and some others tried to do everything.. sometimes it is not the best to do everything because it can annoy the other students! Well in the end everything worked out fine..

Some of us where more into it and some less but I think everybody did a good job!

Leadership Skills

I am really positive and optimistic.. though the first wasn’t ready at all till Wednesday I never thought that we wont make it.. I knew we all have to work together to get it done and so we did and it turned out really well!

I love helping people that’s why I started helping every group.. I helped wherever help was needed!

I didn’t want to talk because I am not really good in talking in front of people (in English.. in german that would be a little bit different!! (; ) that’s why I didn’t want to tell the story at the beginning.. I was a guide! After we changed our idea (not having guides.. just having a few people all over the haunted house!) I was the person who opened and close the door to the room in the very back (the shower..)!

Personal Management Skills

Well as I mentioned before I helped everywhere a little bit.. First I tried to get my part done and when the group I was in didn’t need my help anymore I helped everywhere else…

First I was struggling with the first room but when I saw that everybody is going to help I had the feeling that we can do it!

I don’t know what I could have done more.. of course you can always do more but I think I did a pretty good job!

As I mentioned before I needed help to hang up curtains ;) but I think nobody of us could have done what we did without help of others..

Self-Assessment Skills

As I said before I think we all did a really good job!

I think I did everything I could have done.. and that worked out really good!

I am not really good in marking myself so don’t know what I should say but I guess I would give myself 16 or 17 because I did my part and helped others and was part of the haunted house both days.. but nobody can do the perfect job so I think 16 or 17 is suitable..

So I want to thank everybody!!!

Everybody did a little (or big..) part to get the haunted house done and everybody was so impressed.. people were talking in the hallways in the classrooms.. everywhere!!

I am so glad i was involved in the organization because otherwise i would have had to walk through and i would have been scared soooo bad ;)

#9 Craig's Story

Craig's stort is so impressing!!
He is thirteen.. 3 years younger than me! I feel like I missed the start to help people..
But then I thought about it and realized that it is never too late..
It is amazing how he went to India without knowing what is going to happen! He told his mother that he is sure that everything is safe but he wasn't..
A litte thirteen-year-old boy helps people in his age or younger.. when I was thirteen I didn't even think about topics like that! I was really interested what was happening around the world..
He started a big thing at school and got people involved! People who were older than him.. He is really self-confident how he acts and thinks!
I am sure not every thirteen-year-old boy could go to India and start helping in the slums there..

I think he did an amazing job and he can be proud of him self.. He made a change in the world!

#8 if you really knew me

We don't have that show in Austria and we don't have something like challenge day in Austria.. I think that's a really good thing to bring to a school!


In this episode you could see the change between "hey I am cool/funny/popular/athletic/.." and "we all have our own more or less dramatic story".. they were all so real and honestly I cried when we watched the episode! 


I am not that long at that school but I realized that there a many different groups and cliques.. I don't know anything about the most students here but I am not sure if the other students know a lot about each other.. I think to bring challenge day to IDCI is a really good idea to stop the "gossiping" about other students, cliques or/and groups! And I think it would make the "climate" at school a lot better..


I think the whole idea of challenge day is amazing.. everybody who is part of challenge day gets the chance to tell his/her own story! Most of the people are afraid to tell their story because they think they are alone and nobody will understand them.. but if they see that they are not alone they would probably feel more included in the school and the whole community..


To be honest I wouldn't want to be part of it at that school because I hardly know anybody and to share my story with people I have never seen before in my life would be really hard! I don't even share my story with all of my best friends (I have a really big group of really good friends in Austria and not even half of them know about my story.. I just told my best.. BEST friends and my boyfriend.. ).. 


To bring that to IDCI is a good thing.. it will (hopefully) help people to understand somebody's character or behaviour, stop bullying, stop gossiping, .. And it will help students to know that they are not alone!

#7 why was "today" an important day?

I think that day a lot of people said what they had to say..

To be honest I didn't say anything but I agreed with nearly everything!

There were students who said they understood what you and everybody else was saying.. but when we asked this person to help for the corn-hole-game this person said: "no I wanna go to subway.." my thought was: "didn't you listen what we were just talking about?????" I was really mad but that the DC students had so much fun made my day!

I think there are a few people in this class who are just sitting there and don't say anything (I know that's me too but I have to get used to everything and I promise I will start sharing my ideas and opinions very soon!! ).. When we are in groups I share my ideas but I am still a little bit afraid to talk in front of the whole class! But to me it seems like there are some people who don't even share anything and don't even help preparing things for the orientation or thanksgiving week..

Maybe I am wrong but that's how it seems to me..

But after our conversation I felt much more comfortable in OUR class!

#6 a different kind of story

I think he's an amazing guy with a really interesting story..

I think he is a big leader because he tries to give the silenced a voice with his songs. Though these people cannot hear his songs he still didn't give up and fights.. He fights for these who cannot fight for themselves. 

There are to many people who get out of the country, start a new life and don't think about their past anymore. He got away, is still thinking about them and tries to help them!

With this article he can show everybody the situation in his home country and how the people have to live there. And he hopes to animate other people to help..

The experiences he had when he came back to his home town and country were probably very hard for him. I think it's not easy for him to see how the people have to live there while he is living in a safe country.

Honestly I cannot put myself in his shoes because nobody who didn't experienced what he did can know what somebody feels when he walks through the streets of his birth town and sees people dying.

I respect him a lot for what he did and is doing..

#5 Everything is amazing and nobody is happy..

To be honest I often yell at my phone if it is slow.. this video showed me (in a funny way) that we should be happy to have all these opportunities!


I think it's amazing.. I am here in Canada, more than 7 000 km away from my friends and my family and I can still communicate via internet! They are at the other end of the ocean and I can just take my phone and text them via whatsapp (!) an app on my iPhone (!!)..
If we look a few years back we would have laughed and said: "that will never happen!" nobody would have expected that we are going to HAVE SO MUCH!! 


When we look at kids in Africa: (most of them) are happy without nearly everything! They don't have phones, computers, .. most of them don't even have a roof over their heads. But they are happy to able to play ball or just meet friends! They are happy about the small things in life..
I think we should start to be happy and thankful (!) for all the big AND small things in life!


We have a lot more than more than 90% in this world: freedom, education, food, fresh water, hospitals, roof over our heads, phones, internet, possibility to fly (!!!! SITTING IN A CHAIR.. IN THE AIR!!!!!), ... I could write pages and pages! 
We have so much but are still ungrateful!

#4 Selflessness, Humility & Leadership

I think doing something for the school can be many different things. Everybody in a school makes this school the school it is.. what is a school without students?

Helping for events is something totally different. Not everybody is willing to spend their free time for organizing or planing events. I am going to help for the Remembrance Day and I am really excited to see how planing events at your school works :)

For me it's easy to myself in the grade 9's shoes. New school, new friends, new system, new surrounding, .. everything is different! It's not easy! And and doesn't make it easier if there are people, who are used to all that, picking on you.

They try to settle, find friends, .. they won't hurt anybody! So way picking on the weaker people?

I think there are to many people who think they are better than others! I honestly try not to be like them.. we are all human beings, we all have a heart and a soul! Picking on weaker people is coward!!

#3 Maple Leaf hand Flag Thing

I think our group did a pretty good job! We all together came to a decision: we made the leaf out of our hands and the two red stripes out of the red (!!) paper. Everyone of our group has one hand on the flag. We didn't cut fingers oder other parts of our hands. 
This activity showed me that there is not always just one way to achieve the goal. There some similar ways but sill many different ways to reach the end.
Everyone in our leadership class has a flag, he is part of. We are all a part of anything but we are all different!

#2 Leadership Song


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5T3Zwnz2Vpw

I chose that song 'Men in Love' by Beth Ditto because I think that Beth Ditto is a leader. She doesn't wear size 0 but she is not ashamed of her figure. She is a role model for many people. Beth Ditto is open with her homosexuality, that's another reason why she is a leader.. followed by many fans.