Yesterday we went back to Langeoog.
Here you see me on the ferry again.
Do you see ME? I hope so.
Do you see anything else except the guard railing and a little bit of water?
No!
Everywhere around there was white fog.
Very thick, white fog.
You didn't see anything farther than 20 meters.
And most of the sound was absorbed.
So - how does the ship find its way when the captain doesn't see anything?
Mrs. Schicke told me, that all of the ships have got a radar system.
The radar system is the big horizontal bar on top of the ferry.
It sends a radar beam all around the ship and receives an echo, if the beam strikes something compact like the beach, the coast or another ship.
The captain has got an instrument to see these echoes.
Do you see the coastline and the islands? The little dots are ships!
When the captain notices another ship, he will ask the foghorn to talk to the other ship. The foghorn says: "Hooooooooooooop."
That means: "I am here! Do you hear me? Do you see me? Look out!"
The other ship's foghorn answers: "Hooooooooooooop."
That means: "I am here! I hear you! Do you see me? Look out!"
I don't understand foghorn language very clearly, but most important is, the captain does!
When we came nearer to Langeoog harbour, Mrs. Schicke showed me the foghorn of the harbour. It is the grey square and works just like a big speaker.
I wonder, whether you are smart enough to understand, what this foghorn tells you!
Listen carefully!!
Dear Eduardo,
AntwortenLöschenThe foghorn sounds like a big truck horn. Did we hear the voice of the captain? Or was that Mrs. Schicke perhaps? The radar screen looks very cool. You are so smart, Eduardo! How did you learn to do all of these things? We thought you were an ordinary Bald Eagle stuffed animal. But no, just like that great person, Albert Einstein, we think you are a genius!
Fondly, Mrs. Amri's Class
Oh, I'm not a genius.
AntwortenLöschenBut - I am a book-bag eagle and so - I CAN READ!
And that means I can read encyclopedias as well.
And if I don't find an answer to my questions there, I still can ask someone.
But for finding answers in encyclopedias, you have to learn how to use the index. And that's difficult!
You have to know your abc very well by heart - do you? All of you?
Mrs Schicke's class showed me a game - they stand in a circle and someone starts with "a", the next in the circle say "b" and so on. If the letter you say is a vowel, you have to do a squat, if it is a consonant - jump up high. They try do do it as quickly as possible and have a lot of fun doing that.
But I forgot about the foghorn.
AntwortenLöschenIt SOUNDS like a truck horn.
But what does it TELL?
If you won't get it, I will give you a hint - but first try on your own! And always think of L-angeoog!
Dear Eduardo,
AntwortenLöschenWe learned that the foghorn tells us: "Can you hear me? I'm here! Look out!" And about L-angeoog as a hint: It sounds like it is saying "L-ooooooooog!" We learned that a foghorn helps ships and boats stay safe from each other and from the shoreline so there are no accidents in the water. Is that correct, Eduardo?
Fondly, Mrs. Amri's Class
Oh, you are very close with L-oooooooooog. But just close ...
AntwortenLöschenSo I will give you a hint:
Look for someone named Samuel, who was born on April 27th, 1791 in Charlestown, Massachusetts!
Good hint?
Yours, Eduardo