International Fest
Newsletter from February 25, 2000

 

Other Newsletters

---

Text of Chat on February 25, 2000 with Jon Waterman
Jon's Northwest Passage is Archived with Adventure Online at adventureonline.com

---

Hello Cheryl, Jon and Joan,

Here is the text of the chat. Once again, it was nice to meet you on the Net ;-)

Have a nice weekend

• Rene

  ******
  This has been trimmed a little. I have added comments in orange. I highlighted Jon's comments about the Arctic in green and bolded them to make it easier to locate. I also highlighted student questions in purple.

  rene} Hello Cheryl, this is Holland

  [Vitali] Hello Rene!

  rene} Glad you made it finally to this room ;-)

  [Vitali] So am I. Jon was here awhile ago.

  rene} In the Netherlands, it is now 9:40 pm

  [Vitali] Did Snuitje make it back to Holland? Snuitje is Rene de Vries travel buddy that visited Alta last year.

  rene} I hope Yama was able to sent her to Lone. Lone Nielson is in Hornbaek, Denmark. Both Rene and Lone hosted Alta's travel buddies last year. Next followed a discussion on time zones and how to figure out the differences for Chats.
  
  Rene was facilitating the Chat room and hadn't followed Jon Waterman's project. The time lag between responses and questions is reflected in how the conversation tends to hop back and forth on topics. The reader should be aware this is common in Chats and can be why Chats with several people can become very hard to follow.

  [Vitali] Rene do you have any questions for the students in California..

  Jon has joined channel #tenan

  [Vitali] Welcome Jon!

  rene} Well, students in California...

  [Jon] Hi

  rene}Welcome Jon, I am Rene de Vries from Netherlands

  [Jon] Nice to meet you

  rene} I just wanted to ask students of California

  [Vitali] It is wonderful to meet you.

  rene} What do you suggest I will do in California when I am there in August? Rene is visiting this summer :-).

  rene} Nice to meet you too, Jon

  [Vitali] Head to the mountains.

  rene} Which mountains... California is bigger than my country

  [Vitali] Jon, Kimi wanted to know how does it feel to travel by dog sled?

  [Vitali] I'll show you some wonderful places in the Sierras in August,

  bring boots!

  [Jon] Traveling by dogsled is exciting, particularly if the dogs spot a

  caribou, or if you fall off and your companion is deaf and can't hear you

  shouting that you have fallen off behind him.

  rene} Wow, Jon, where did you travel?

  rene} Boots will be too heavy to bring with us

  [Vitali] Did you fall off this summer Jon?

  [Vitali] Good walking shoes with traction, I'd like to do a little rock

  climbing with you.

  [Jon] I spent ten months over three years, mostly kayaking, from Prudhoe

  Bay, Ak, to Gulf of Boothia, Nunavut; some 2,200 miles across the roof of

  the continent.

  [Vitali] Jon, one of students wanted to know if you were attacked by an

  animal during your travels?

  [Jon] I fell off the dogsled during a 100 mile sortie last spring in the

  Arctic, but didn't fall out of my kayak during the summer.

  rene} Sounds wonderful to me... so you have a lot of adventures to share

  with California students right now

  [Vitali] Jon shares adventures with the world. And you did fall off your

  kayak one time as I recall.

  [Jon] The mosquitoes continually attacked me, in thick clouds; and twice,

  grizzly bears jumped into the water and started swimming after me, but I'm

  not sure we could call this an attack.

  [Vitali] That is close enough for comfort!

  [Jon] Yes I capsized more than once in previous summers; funny thing was

  that once I started using a drysuit, I never capsized.

  rene} Yep, that is funny for sure ;-)

  [Vitali] Murphy's law I truly believe in it. Girl Scout motto is Be

  Prepared!

  [Vitali] One student wants to know how fast could you go in your

  kayak?

  [Jon] And it's not a real adventure if the unexpected isn't continually

  suprising (or capsizing) you.

  rene} When a grizzly is after Jon, I guess he travels around 100 m.p.h. ;-)

  [Jon] I could paddle at about 4 miles an hour, but every hour or two I'd

  stop and sip tea and eat Cliff Bars. Sailing, however, was nearly twice as

  fast, yet dangerous.

  [Vitali] I hardly think the whistles I used in the Sierras would be enough.

  [Vitali] Sipping tea, what no crumpets?

  [Jon] Rene is correct about the 100 miles per hour, amazing how fear makes

  you transcend ordinary speeds.

  [Vitali] Why did you travel across the Arctic?

  [Vitali] Jon maybe you could share about one of your rescues on Mt. McKinley.

  [Jon] As for whistles, the barren ground grizzly would run after you,

  thinking that it (the whistle) is the same noise made by a ground squirrel;

  and shotgun blasts only mimic the splintering of sea ice.

  [Vitali] One student wants to know how many people you have saved.

  [Jon] I traveled across the Arctic because I wanted to learn more about

  the marvelous ecosystem and Inuit culture.

  rene} Jon, just curious,,, do you know Ann Bancroft and Liv, two women who

  will travel the Arctic coming winter?

  [Vitali] Michael wants to know if Jon is planning on coming to California

  some time.

  [Jon] The most memorable rescue was a helicopter pickup of 3 victims from

  14,000 and 17,000 feet on Denali; a storm was coming in and it turned out

  the victims weren't badly injured at all. The five minute fuel warning

  gauge buzzed on while we were lost in a cloud and we did a forced landing

  on a highway, with only vapors left in the tank; we were nearly plowed over

  by a semi truck.

  rene} Gosh !

  [Jon] I don't know Ann and Liv, although I know of them and respect them.

  [Jon] I may be coming to California to promote my book next year.

  rene} I met the two women in England last October

  rene}Ddid you wrote a lot of books, Jon?

  [Jon] Rene, what is it that you do?

  [Vitali] I have one of his and I would love to get another and have it signed.

  rene} I am ICT coordinator and teacher elementary school in Holland

  [Jon] I have written nine and a half books.

  [Vitali] Jon you told about a Beluga hunt, what was the most memorable hunt

  you had with the Inuit?

  [Vitali] Jon have you seen a albino shark in the Arctic?

  [Jon] Probably the most memorable hunt was my dogsledding companion's

  shooting a caribou. The caribou's back was laced with crusty-shelled

  maggots, warble flies, and he tried to get me to eat one, claiming that

  they tasted like mushroom. I refused of course.

  [Vitali] Rene is the wonder teacher of Holland. He has done awesome work

  on endangered species.

  [Jon] No re albino sharks

  [Jon] Rene, what sort of work have you done with endangered species?

  [Vitali] Michael sounded brave about many Inuit foods, but he'd pass on the

  warble flies.

  rene} Not alone, Cheryl.... // Jon, I work together with Indiana Joan on

  online projects, one of them is about Endangered Animals

  rene} I will send the URL of the project later (THE URL IS:

  http://www.tenan.vuurwerk.nl ... rene)

  rene} we published already around 400 reports from students all over the world

  [Vitali] Jonathan wants to know what was the hardest time for you in your

  travels?

  [Jon] Rene, are you familiar with the book, SURVIVORS? Photographed by a

  good friend of mine; all endangered species in studio poses?

  [Vitali] Indiana Joan isn't here right now. I have some plastic bugs kids

  posed with when I did a unit on that! Joan Goble is in Cannelton, Indiana and collaborates with Rene. Originally she was also scheduled to be present for the Chat. She has hosted a travel buddy for Mrs. Vitali and vice versa.

  rene} I think I looked at it the last time I was in USA

  [Jon] The hardest times for me in my travels were both being alone for

  extended periods of time and trying to figure out what acceptable levels of

  risk were--when you're alone, it's so hard to be objective about real

  versus perceived dangers.

  rene} Jon, can you send me a list of your titles... I will try to find

  them here in Netherlands.

  [Vitali] Jon do you plan on traveling in the Arctic again?

  [Jon] Surviving Denali, High Alaska, In the Shadow of Denali, Cloud

  Dancers, Quotable Climber, Kayaking the Vermilion Sea, A Most Hostile MT.,

  Arctic Crossing (or maybe it will be titled Swims With Bears, not yet

  published), and two unpublished novels.

  [Vitali] Jon when you traveled with Elias did he sleep in the tent with you?

  [Vitali] I have Quotable Climber so far.

  [Jon] I'm certain I will go back to the Arctic again; where exactly, I'm

  not sure.

  [Vitali] They are passing your book around.

  [Vitali] Will your new wife go with you?

  [Jon] Elias did sleep in the tent with me, although I preferred to have her

  outside if it was warm enough, so she could bark if bears were coming.

  rene} Cheryl, next time we must do the video conferencing, I would love to

  see the students ;-)

  [Vitali] That would be fun. I have taken lots of photos.

  rene} oops, some misspelled words

  [Jon] I would hope to take June with me when I go back again, it just

  depends where I'm going and whether she can get off work.

  [Jon] Rene, does your class all speak English?

  [Jon] And which book are you passing around?

  rene} Yes, I teach grade 6 (11-12 years old kids)

  rene} and in Holland, kids in grade 5 and 6 learn English

  [Vitali] Quotable climber, we just stopped and took some waving photos and

  video.

  [Vitali] I'm so impressed with what they do in Europe, both Holland and

  Denmark.

  [Jon] I should have mentioned earlier, that I am of Dutch ancestry, on my

  mother's side (my grandmother's name was Dearstyne).

  rene} some of them do it very well... last week I had a parents evening,

  and my kids did a video conferencing with Joan's students all by

  themselves, to show how easy it is to collaborate with students all over

  the world

  [Jon] It is wonderful how the Internet can bring people together like we

  are doing now...

  [Vitali] Some of the children are having to go back to the middle school.

  rene} right... Jon... just wondering...

  rene} if you do the next expedition...

  rene} wouldn't it be nice to stay in touch with students all over the world

  during that travel?

  rene} to make it a real learning experience for them too?

  [Vitali] Hillary is still here and Dr. McLellan's class.

  rene} I am sure the California kids and mine would love to follow you

  [Vitali] Did June worry about you when you were gone. I know we worried

  about you!

  [Jon] Yes, it would be, although the equipment and time needed would have

  made it a little bit difficult during my last solo trip in extreme

  conditions. This is not to say that I wouldn't try to arrange live links

  on my next trip (which might not be so extreme).

  [Vitali] I think sometimes connections were hard for you. Look at the

  trouble we had in sunny California!

  [Jon] Yes, I agree, and hope to share my learning experience the next time.

  Possibly while retracing the Lewis and Clark trail.

  rene} that would be cool !

  [Vitali] Are you collaborating with John Kuglin? We met in Chicago. I am

  hoping to team some with EOS.

  [Jon] We should keep in touch about my future trips, and see if we can't

  arrange to have both of your classrooms follow me.

  [Vitali] Absolutely!

  [Jon] Yes I did miss June badly, but it was harder for her, not knowing if

  I was okay.

  rene} Yes, my students would be very interested

  [Vitali] Jon, are you aware of the Lewis and Clark project plans for the

  bicentennial?

  [Jon] No, I have no plans, don't know John Kuglin. What's EOS?

  [Vitali] I have some great links and contacts for you with the University

  of Montana and NASA.

  rene} what is EOS?

  [Jon] What are the Lewis and Clark project plans for the bic.?

  [Jon] Great, I'd welcome your links and contacts.

  [Vitali] Real time and space collaboration across the trail in 2003 with an

  onground project.

  [Jon] Who is doing this in 2003?

  [Vitali] home page for John is www.Kuglin.com

  [Jon] thanks for the info.

  [Vitali] Earth Observing System (EOS) Education Project at the University

  of Montana.

  [Vitali] Combines Geographic Information System (GIS) technologies I have

  quite a few links I can share.

  [Jon] thanks.

  rene} Jon... you can find more information about the two women (Ann is from USA,

  Livv is from Norway) at web page http://www.yourexpedition.com/. they

  will have lessons plans for students too, they are planning to cross the

  arctic coming winter

  [Jon] I'm assuming that you're on broad band, and that's why you're

  affected by the weather?

  [Vitali] In the winter?

  [Jon] Did you mean the Antarctic? And have you heard about Sunniva Sorby,

  also crossing the Antarctic at the same time?

  rene} yes, sorry, they will cross Antarctica

  rene} no, I only know Ann and Liv in person

  [Jon] Sunniva was a companion of Ann's during their last Antarctic South

  Pole trip.

  [Vitali] The students all just had to leave. What is it like in Colorado

  right now?

  [Vitali] Rene, is the chat archived at all so we can print a copy?

  rene} Is it warm in Colorado and California?

  [Vitali] The classroom door is open.

  [Jon] It's cold and snowy; but the thing I love about it here is that the

  sun always follows the storms and warms it up to spring conditions.

  rene} Cheryl, yes I saved the chat starting when I joined the chatroom

  [Vitali] I have lots of daffodils here today.

  [Vitali] Jon, make sure to send an address so I can send copies of photos.

  [Jon] It's 20 degrees Fahrenheit here, with a considerable wind.

  rene} Daffodils... my favorite flower ;-).... my hometown Haarlem is called

  the flower city of Netherlands, because in Spring, we have our city

  covered with daffodils

  [Jon] We have some daffodils on our kitchen table...

  [Vitali] I have people saying good-bye and thank you right now.

  rene} Last year, I taught students of grade 1 an English song about

  daffodils ;-).... so, at the end, we all smile the same language ;-)

  [Jon] Good bye, your welcome!

  rene} Bye students of California, I hope to meet you in August!

  [Vitali] I was thinking of all of you when I picked them this morning. Tot

  ziens, Rene until next time!

  [Jon] Thanks for including me! Let's keep in touch.

  rene} Tot ziens Cheryl , till next time

  [Vitali] The Sierras have some wonderful treks for June and you to explore,

  not sure they compare to the Arctic.

  At this point we started to discuss projects and future chats together. Collaborative ideas started flowing....

  rene} we do a new project about Animal Diaries... and we want to publish

  poems and stories from kids all around the world, and we have a list of

  writers who want to participate our online project. Interested?

  [Jon] Tell me more, please.

  [Vitali] Speaking of animals we have a story happening at Alta about a

  stray emu.

  rene} the website for our project is http://www.tesan.vuurwerk.nl/diaries/

  [Vitali] It turns out the emu (which Bill Smith caught for us) is enamored

  of some cows. Got out and traveled four miles for a visit.

  [Jon] I will have a look at your website. What kind of involvement are you

  looking for?

  rene} We publish kids stories, drawings , photos....

  rene} When kids want to ask writers how to start with writing a book, the

  writers are willing to answer the questions...

  rene} and writers are willing to participate in chats...

  rene} and illustrators are willing to review drawings if kids want that

  rene} that kid of stuff ;-)

  [Jon] I'd be happy to participate in chats and answer questions, sure.

  rene} nice story , Cheryl ;_).... would be nice to add on the site ;-)

  rene} Great, Jon, I will let Joan contact you, she does the PR for our

  sites ... she can tell you much more about it

  [Jon] Okay, keep me posted, I have a date. Good-bye for now.

  [Vitali] I hate to log off but I need to help clean up. Nicole and Lynn

  have been putting everything away.

  [Vitali] Until later.

  [Vitali] To the wonderful exploration of the Internet!

  rene} )k, thanks a lot for the invitation, Cheryl. And it was nice to meet

  your students.

  [Jon] Rene, perhaps your classroom already knows about my "Northwest

  Passage" website, at adventureonline.com

  rene} and Jon, you too thanks for the chat

  rene} Yes, we had a look at it !

  The discussion on daffodils was totally unexpected and so appropriate. Years ago when I first started collaborating with Rene and other Musketeers, I put up the photo below online.

  These daffodils have grown from bulbs that were planted in the 1940s by Buck Bailey at a company house owned by the Christian Brothers. I lived in the house for 10 years, and it was eventually moved to another location. When I moved, I transplanted the daffodils and the ancient wisteria in my new yard. Hundreds of bulbs bloom every spring and I dig them up as gifts for visitors and neighbors so they are blooming around the neighborhood and elsewhere. I consider those daffodils my friendship flowers and they were very fitting for our celebration and discussion today. May efforts toward peace and preservation of the Earth be as fruitful and hardy as they bulbs have been for over 50 years! Cheryl Vitali

   

  ---

  Visitors to Our Web Site
  Please send us feedback and comments.
  
  Please respect copyright.
  
  Comments: e-mail, KCUSD@gsn.org
  Cheryl Vitali: Project Designer & Coordinator
  Copyright © Alta Elementary School All Rights Reserved
  Updated 2/28/00