Bulletin 10
– 22 September 1997
Special Edition
Telecom Amazon Adventure Update
 Update
from Andrew
Farewell from Andrew
Our link-up for the Amazon Adventure is
now over so this is just a short note to say goodbye and
thanks heaps for taking part. My travelling around has
been lots of fun - and being able to share it with you
has been the most fun of all. I've learned a lot and I
hope you have too. Right now I'm still in Brazil –
but I'm making my way back down the country by bus
(travelling with the locals) and stopping at a few places
along the way. Brazil is a very interesting country with
lots of good places to explore and I suspect I’ll
return sometime soon.
Not only did I survive my Amazon
Adventure but amazingly my laptop computer did too! This
was one of the things I was most worried about when I set
out. Travel can be very difficult – and carrying a
computer around with me on planes, buses, and riverboats
is rough. My computer now looks beaten up – but it
runs reliably despite it having been knocked around,
walked over by a monkey, and plugged into all sorts of
strange power supplies it wasn't designed for.
Fortunately I didn't need to use it to block any Indian
arrows. Sometimes the different power supplies make the
computer get very hot (the fan no longer works and the
hot tropical weather doesn't help), but it still goes
– although somewhere along the way it started
talking Portuguese!
I will be returning to the Brazilian city
of Porto Alegre where I'll say goodbye to some friends,
and then jump onboard a series of planes which will bring
me back home to New Zealand. I should arrive home at the
end of September or early October. I'm a little nervous
about returning to New Zealand - for instance, I'm not
sure what the Customs people will say when they see me
getting off the plane carrying a real Amazon Indian bow
and arrow which I bought to show people the skill that
went into making it.
Once in New Zealand it'll probably take
me a few weeks to get settled back into my routine. But
I'm looking forward to seeing my New Zealand friends and
family and to enjoying the coffee and nachos again at my
favourite cafΘ (Midnight Espresso) in Wellington.
I’m so used to the warmer weather now, you might see
me walking around wearing a big thick jersey and jacket
complaining about the cold while everyone else is lightly
dressed to enjoy the spring weather.
After I return to New Zealand I'll be
making new plans for my work and will also investigate
travelling to the United States to study. I may do
another "Amazon Adventure" for American schools
as part of my Masters project – and even have ideas
about doing the opposite . . . link-up small schools in
the Amazon to teach them how people live in the outside
world. Time will tell.
By following my travels you're all Amazon
Adventurers now too. And you now have the opportunity to
become Space Explorers by getting involved in the next
classroom programme. Watch out for stray comets.
Best regards,
Andrew Mercer
Explorers Mystery Quiz
Last week’s winner
The winner of last week’s Explorers
Mystery Quiz was Room 6, Waterlea School Mangere Bridge,
Auckland.
Last week’s answers
Answer One
More than 1,170 species of birds have
been identified in Amazonia.
Answer Two
Francisco de Orellana led the first
expedition of the Amazon in 1540 and 1541.
Bonus Mystery Quiz
Everyone who entered one of our mystery
quizzes in the Amazon Adventure went into the draw for a
bonus prize for their class. Congratulations to Forms 1
and 2, Iona College, Havelock North - the winners of the
Amazon Adventure Bonus Mystery Quiz Prize for getting the
most correct answers. A Telecom bag of goodies is in the
post to you.
Thanks a lot
Thanks to everyone who took part in
Telecom Amazon Adventure. It’s been a great
adventure and we hope you’ve enjoyed finding out
more about this unique area of the world and listening to
Andrew recount his adventures and visits to all those
interesting places.
Out of this world
Come with us on a virtual adventure in
space and learn all about how and why humans have had
such a fascination with the stars.
You will have an opportunity to listen to
our guests including famous astronauts and space
explorers and there’ll also be the chance for some
of you to meet American astronaut Dr Shannon Lucid who is
visiting schools in Auckland, Hamilton, Wellington,
Christchurch, Dunedin and Invercargill.
Look out for the Space Exploration module
information being sent to schools enrolled in this
programme this week. If you’d like to enrol, fax the
Adventure Line on (Wellington) 0-4-498 5575.
And we’ll see you in Space . . .
 
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