Bulletin 1
– 21 July 1997
Telecom Amazon Adventure Update
 Update
from Andrew
Hello from Manaus,
Hi, my name is Andrew Mercer and during
the next nine weeks I’ll be travelling in Brazil and
Peru, and linking back with New Zealand schools so you
can learn about South America.
The part of South America I'm visiting is
very special because it contains some of the world’s
most impressive rainforests,
with a greater variety of plants and animals than
anywhere else on earth. It’s also special because
the Incas – the
greatest native civilization to exist in the Americas
– lived in the Andes Mountains, close to the source
of the Amazon River.
Each week, I‘ll be sending bulletins
about where I am and what I’m doing. These will give
you an idea about my day-to-day life. I’ll also be
taking part in audioconferences so your class has
the opportunity to talk to me about my travels and people
I’ve met. If you or your school has access to the
Internet, there is an Amazon Adventure worldwide web site
packed full of information and photos which will be
updated regularly. To visit the Amazon Adventure homepage
go to: http://www.telecom.co.nz/tef
and click on "Explorers and Adventurers" and
you'll see the Amazon Adventure logo.
My journey
I am starting my journey here in Manaus, a huge city
located in the heart of Amaz⌠nia.
Even though it's 1,600km inland, Manaus is considered to
be an ocean port because big ocean-going cargo ships and
oil-tankers get to the city by sailing up the Amazon
River. Manaus started out as a small town in the middle
of the Amazon rainforest – but in the 19th century
it became very rich and prosperous when Europeans
discovered uses for rubber, a sap which was extracted
from trees in the rainforest by the local Indians. The
sudden wealth created by rubber resulted in this tiny
Amazon town being transformed into a modern
European-style city with fancy houses, and a magnificent
opera house. The rubber boom ended a long time ago but
these buildings still exist and will be interesting to
visit.
Manaus is surrounded by a tropical
rainforest containing lots of wild animals, like monkeys,
jaguars, exotic birds, and snakes. I will be visiting a
place called Aria· Towers – a special hotel built
in the rainforest so people can learn about the forest
and meet some of the animals. Aria· also runs a
programme to help animals that have been recovered from
smugglers, and returns them to live in the rainforest.
After Aria·, I will travel to Cuzco in Peru to learn
about the Incas, and trek deep into the rainforest where
I will see more animals and meet Amazon Indians. In the
final few weeks I will travel on an Amazon riverboat
and will finish my journey in the ultra-modern city of Brasφlia.
This project is very exciting for me. Not
only do I get to visit lots of interesting places, but I
also get to link with lots of New Zealand schools, using
communication technology.
I am a computer programmer and worked at
Massey University where I helped build a computer system
for university students who studied from home. The
students used this system to talk to their teachers and
other students – even though they lived all around
New Zealand and weren’t able to travel to the
university.
I left Massey University to travel
overseas, and during my travels I thought that it would
be good to use this technology to share my experiences
with schools and other people. I am also interested in
linking up with schools in developing countries so
teachers and children from all around the world can learn
more about each other.
Using technology in schools is still a
new idea, and later I plan to return to university so I
can learn more about it. In the meantime, the Amazon
Adventure gives me the opportunity to do something a
little different from most people, and to make lots of
new friends. I look forward to talking with you, and
telling you more about my adventures in the weeks to
come.
Cheers for now,
Andrew
Andrew's flights
Andrew left New Zealand at 8.05pm on 11
July and arrived in Buenos Aires, Argentina at 4.30pm on
11 July. On 12 July he flew to Porto Alegre, Brazil where
he spent the next few days. Then on 18 July he flew to
Manaus in Brazil to begin his adventure. (Buenos Aires
and Manaus are 14 hours behind New Zealand time.)
You're not alone
If you're taking part in Telecom's Amazon
Adventure you're not alone. More than 700 schools are
enrolled in this module of the Explorers and Adventurers
programme.
If you'd like to be part of this
Adventure it's not too late to enrol. You can fax
Danielle Greig on the Adventure line - 0-4-4985575 or
e-mail Danielle on sarah.berry@telecom.co.nz
Photos on the Net
For regular updates on Andrew's progress
see the Telecom Education Foundation's Explorers and
Adventurers homepage. Throughout his journey, when
technology allows, Andrew will update the homepage.
Check out the Amazon Adventure homepage
at: http://www.telecom.co.nz/tef
Click on the Explorers and Adventures homepage and you'll
see the Amazon Adventure logo. You might like to bookmark
the Amazon Adventure homepage.
Key Pals wanted!
If you want to share your Amazon
information and ideas, junior classes at Sutherland
Dianella Primary School in Western Australia are looking
for penpals, or key pals. You can get in touch with
pupils at this school by e-mailing Bhavneet Singh on suther@iinet.net.au
Fun Facts
Amaz⌠nia is the world's largest
rainforest, covering more than 6 million square
kilometres.
One-fifth of all the world's
fresh flowing water flows through the Amazon.
Twelve billion litres of water flow out of the
river every minute – enough to supply New
York City for 60 years! The Amazon is more than
6,000km long, and in some places is more than
11km wide (and can become 50km wide when it
floods in the wet season). The mouth of the river
is 200km wide, where it flows around Ilha de
Maraj≤, an island which is bigger than
Switzerland.
Amazon Activity
Each week we'll include an activity
you may like to try in your class. These activities are
in addition to the ones listed in the Amazon Education
Resource Kit sent out last month to all schools taking
part in the Amazon Adventure.
There are still thought to be a number of
undiscovered tribes living in the Amazon jungle, despite
the numerous explorations in the Amazon region over the
years. Imagine you are a member of an exploration team
that discovers one of these "lost tribes". What
would you do? How would you communicate with them? What
would you say? Write a story about your adventure in
making this amazing discovery.
If you want to be published on the Web
e-mail your stories to us at sarah.berry@telecom.co.nz
Check it out!
If you want to find out more about
Amaz⌠nia you may like to see what books are available in
your local or school library. Here are some you might
like to see if you can find.
The Amazon: Past Present and
Future, Alain Gheerbrant, Thames and
Hudson, London.
Jacques Cousteau's Amazon Journey,
Jacques Cousteau and Mose Richards, Harry N.
Abrahams Publishers, New York.
The Rivers Amazon, Alex
Shoumatoff, Century Hutchinson Ltd.
Running the Amazon, Joe
Kane, Pan Books, London.
On the Internet
There are lots of great Amazon Internet
sites listed on Telecom's Amazon Adventure homepage
(http://www.telecom.co.nz/tef) and then click on the
Explorers and Adventures homepage and you'll see the
Amazon Adventure logo.
Here's an Amazon site you might like to
check out. It is the Rainforest Action Network which
features lots of information about the Rainforest and
also has a Kids Corner. The Rainforest Action Network
homepage is at:
http://www.igc.apc.org/ran/kids_action/index.html
Explorers Mystery Quiz - Bulletin 1
Answer the Explorers Mystery Quiz
questions below correctly and be in to win a Panasonic
cassette recorder for your class. You will find the
answer to this week's first question on your Explorers
and Adventurers Mystery Trail poster. You might need to
do a bit more research to answer question two. Fax your
answers to the Telecom Adventure Line: 0-4-498 5575.
Entries close at 5pm on Friday 25 July.
The classes whose students correctly
answer the most Explorers Mystery Quizzes during the
Explorers and Adventurers programme will go into the draw
for a grand prize in December. So good luck everyone.
Question One
Who was the first European to discover
the "New World" - where and when?
Question Two
Some scholars believe the Amazon
Rainforest was named after Amazons - women warriors in
Greek mythology who were thought to reside in the area.
Where do other scholars say the name comes from?
The answers, along with the winning class
will be in next week's Fax Bulletin.
 
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