The CouchSurfing Project Spreads Too Fast
Mainers find it hard to keep up with the new trend in travel

A map of all the couches available to surf! (Courtesy of www.couchsurfing.com)

The idea of sleeping on a stranger’s couch doesn’t seem so far-fetched if it happens in another country, but now it’s happening everywhere. From Mongolia to Maine, the CouchSurfing trend is creating a new tourism experience and bringing travelers together in 231 countries.

The CouchSurfing Project is an international networking web site designed to connect travelers to people and places they can visit. It was founded by Casey Fenton, who didn’t want to be a typical tourist in a hotel when he travelled to Iceland. He e-mailed over 1,500 students before visiting Reykjavik and said he found several to show him an “amazing, crazy weekend just south of the Arctic Circle.”

The CouchSurfing Project is a non-profit organization with 793,449 members worldwide, and the fad is still growing. 9,356 members joined last week alone.

There are 301 total couches to choose from in Maine. 115 of them are in Portland, 18 are in Bangor and 14 are in Orono. Many Mainers have yet to hear about CouchSurfing, which is a problem for the members who can’t keep up with all the requests from travelers.

Susan Kaye and her son Nicholas (Courtesy of www.couchsurfing.com)

Susan Kaye, an advertising professor at the University of Maine in Orono, said “I can’t believe how frequently I get requests and from time to time have to say no.” When she doesn’t have room to accommodate, she helps redirect the travelers to other couches in the area.

Kaye is a very active member of the CouchSurfing community. She has had many visitors stay at her home in Bangor, including people coming from Canada, Australia, Israel and Germany.

Other hosts in the area also find it a challenge to keep up with the requests. Lauren Gray is a second-year biology student at UMaine and a CouchSurfing host in Bangor. After joining the project, Gray was surprised by how many people asked to stay at her apartment. She said, “I think I only hosted 1 of every 6 people that wanted to crash on my couch in the past month or two.”

The overflow of requests is often passed on to Maine’s group site, and most travelers can find, among many other things, a place to stay in the area they’re looking for.

Pat Nabozny, a second-year political science student at UMaine, recently hosted a 25-year-old Indian CouchSurfer who was passing through Bangor on his way to New York. “The experience actually exceeded my expectations,” Nabozny said.

He and his guest spoke for hours about their differences in culture. They ran out of time before they ran out of conversation. Nabozny added, “You lend your couch to a stranger and leave with a friend. Something like 99.8 percent of CouchSurfers leave with positive experiences. Mainers need to take advantage of this.”

Nicole Leblanc after surfing in Croatia.

Nicole Leblanc, a Maine Native in her third year at Northeastern University, traveled overseas last spring, and her CouchSurfing hosts immersed her in their way of life. She encourages Mainers to do the same. Leblanc said, “It was wonderful to have a free place to stay, free interactions with locals, free drugs and alcohol—I recommend it to everyone.”

For more information, visit the project’s website at www.couchsurfing.com.

Mary Rumpho, one of the main organizers for the Pink Tulip Garden, also had a few things to say about the upcoming event:

Mary Rumpho (Photo by www.aspb.org)

“I first learned of the Pink Tulip Project 3 years ago through an email communication from Meredith Burgess, a member of the Maine Cancer Foundation Board and a breast cancer survivor, herself. I checked out the information on the Maine Cancer Foundation web site and noticed that while Bangor was included as a potential garden site, the University of Maine was not. I was put in touch with Robin Whitten, the founder of the project, and she enthusiastically welcomed the campus’ participation. Robin arranged a meeting of all interested parties in Bangor.

My scientific training is in plant biology and I am married to an avid gardener. In turn, we have both lost close family members and friends to cancer. To me, this project ties together the beauty of new life emerging in the spring out of the cold and snow of Maine, with inspired hope for those battling cancer, and a reminder that we still need to raise money to find better diagnoses, treatments and cures for cancer, even if it is $1 at a time. From comments and emails I received from people on campus, I believe the pink tulip blooms are both an inspiration and a reminder that we still have a long ways to go to cure this disease. The students take pride in contributing to the cause and helping to color the campus. For many on campus, contributing to the project and watching the tulips emerge provides another opportunity for them to remember and honor loved ones.

I know and have known many women and a few men who have had breast cancer, but the closest people to me were my two grandmothers and my mother’s only sister. I had a small scare with melanoma about 10 years ago myself and one of my sisters is currently dealing with a diagnosis of thyroid cancer, so I am keenly aware of the need to support research on cancer to help improve detection and treatment of all forms.

Mary Rumpho at Work (Photo by www.umaine.edu)

The “Pink Tulip Project” is a win-win project; not only are we trying to raise money for cancer research and education (all of the funds stay in Maine), but we are providing hope and inspiration to cancer sufferers, survivors and their families, and finally, we are beautifying the UMaine campus.

This garden will be much like last years in that we will plant the tulip bulbs in the shape of a pink ribbon again in front of Foger library and also in two small beds on each side of the ribbon. We do hope to raise more money each year. While the minimum donation is $1/bulb, we hope to raise much more than that. We are also planting some pink daffodils in a garden bed between Hitchner Hall and Nutting Hall on campus. Finally, we hope to get the word out better to help others who want to start their own “Pink Tulip Garden” and we will serve as a resource for others to help them get started with fundraising, etc.“

UMaine green thumbs plant a pink ribbon
Volunteers will plant 1,000 pink tulips for Breast Cancer Awareness

BY ALISON BROMLEY

October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month, and volunteers will honor it by “sowing” a pink ribbon at the University of Maine in Orono. The Pink Tulip Project will raise money for the Maine Cancer Foundation and take place at noon on Thursday, Oct. 30.

Volunteers will be planting a ribbon-shaped bed of 1,000 pink tulips. The garden will be in front of Fogler Library on the university mall.

Many UMaine faculty, staff and student groups will be participating, such as the Delta Rho sorority, All Maine Women and the Senior Skulls.

Jessica Wolfenden, a senior volleyball player for the Maine Black Bears, will also be planting tulips this Thursday. She has used her sport to raise $1,300 for breast cancer this month and is excited to plant tulips as well. Wolfenden said, “It makes me proud and happy to see that people are helping and caring about this important cause.”

There is a minimum donation of $1 per tulip, and anyone is welcome to help plant the bulbs. Hot Cider will be provided for all volunteers.

This is the third annual Pink Tulip Project that UMaine has participated in. According to Vicky Blanchette, a UMaine communication specialist, this year’s will also include “two other, smaller gardens around flanking trees by Fogler.”

Yellow tulips will be planted to represent men fighting breast cancer, as well as some deer-resistant daffodils.

Blanchette will be helping Mary Rumpho, a biochemistry and molecular biology professor, organize and lead the Pink Tulip Project on Oct. 30.

Last year, Blanchette planted a private Pink Tulip garden in remembrance of her mother, who died of cancer at age 65. She said, “You see a physical result of your efforts, and it’s a beautiful, beautiful thing.”

To support this year’s garden, please visit http://snipurl.com/umotulips08. Call Rumpho at 581-2806 or Blanchette at 581-2204 for additional information.

My brother and his five best friends have all been really close since they met during high school in Bangor. Most of them went to college together in Boston, and then they all headed out the west coast to live together for a few years. While there, they joined an intramural basketball team and paved their way to the championships with their east coast tactics. Unfortunately, they lost.

Upset by the bid disappointment, the six boys stole the championship trophy from the winners. They kept it on a shelf near the top of their three-story, cathedral-ceiling apartment, well out of reach for anyone trying to steal it back.

My brother, after earning enough money to spend some time traveling, decided to make a solo move back to New England. He thought the trophy should come with him, rightfully near their roots and far away from the true winners reach. As his last action before he drove back across the country, my brother snagged the trophy from its shelf and hid it in his car. He took pictures of himself and the trophy in all the states along the way, at each of the boys houses in Maine, and its final resting place in Holden.

Or so he thought….

Check my next freewriting for what happened next!

I choose the Arts/Culture/Humanities/Medicine beat to report on for the rest of the semester. I am most interested in this category, and I feel that I will enjoy doing all of the assignments with this section.

The word “news” probably from the word “new,” because news is any current information or event. In one of my first media classes, I read that the word also could have been an acronym for North, East, West, and South. Some people thought that the purpose of reporting the information from each of those directions was so people would know what was going on around them, in every direction.

To me, that makes a whole lot of sense. I don’t have to read the paper or watch the news everyday, but I choose to. Not only does it make my current events quiz grade higher (though, according to that, I should probably pay closer attention), but keeping up with the news aids me with important decisions in my life.

Media outlets help me decide if I need to bring an umbrella with me that day or buy gas before the prices go up. They help me be a productive member of society, by telling me when to vote or what dangers to look out for. I believe that a well-informed person is the best kind…and reading, watching or hearing the news is by far the number one way to become one.

I just read an article about a guy in Pennysylvania that ate a 20-pound burger to win $400, three t-shirts, a certificate and what he called “a burger hangover.” I had to share this story! I can only imagine…I don’t think I could even eat one pound of hamburger if I tried.

Brad Sciullo and his 20-pound burger!

It took Brad Sciullo, a 21-year-old from Uniontown, Pennsylvania, almost five hours to eat the massive burger on Monday, October 13. He is a 180-pound chef and the first person to eat the Beer Barrel Belly Brusier burger.

To read more, click here!

(Photo Credit: http://bangorinfo.com/Graphics/bdn.jpg)

Fortunately for Paul Grosswiler, looks aren’t everything in journalism. This is not to say he’s unattractive–his ponytail and constant hint of a smile are surely charming enough—but the tenured professor and current chair of the Department of Communication and Journalism at the University of Maine got his start in print journalism because reporting news over the television isn’t the only way.

Grosswiler earned his bachelor’s degree in creative writing and humanities, but he decided to go into journalism as a more “practical decision.” He said that he “never wanted to be in front of the camera,” so, while later working on his master’s degree at the University of Missouri, he put broadcast “out of the picture” and decided that print journalism would be the way to go.

His job in print was reporting murders, break-ins, thefts, and fires for the “Police Beat” section in the Southeast Missourian. Then, he moved to Maine and got a job at the Bangor Daily News.

Grosswiler started as a copy editor. He corrected grammar, edited photos, wrote headlines, and made sure that everything was written in accordance with the Associate Press Stylebook. He later became an assistant feature editor there.

After holding many other jobs, Grosswiler has settled down in his current career and only occasionally writes op-eds. He claims, “Being a muckraker is my secret dream,” but will stick to teaching and talking about print journalism for now.

While speaking to a class about writing for the mass media at UMaine, he had a lot to say.

Journalists need to know how to collect and assemble information. Grosswiler asserted, “Your story is only going to be as good as the information you gather.” He suggested using interviews, speeches, and documents, which “journalists can use and don’t use enough of.” He also advised prospective journalists to take good notes, use direct quotes, and attribute their sources.

Grosswiler told the students to remember, “You are not a source.” Journalists are telling stories and should not be a part of them. It is crucial that they write in third person and never use the word “I.”

(Photo Credit: http://www.libraryjournal.com/)

There are many other aspects of print journalism that are important, such as using good transitions and writing “directly and simply.” Grosswiler stressed using the “inverted pyramid” style, which means including the most important information in the lead of an article. He also said, “We try not to make people look like doofuses,” so a good journalist should edit direct quotes, keeping accuracy in mind.

Some people believe that the progressing trend in internet journalism will destroy newspapers, and Grosswiler even said, “The death of print journalism has been forecast for a long time.” While reading news online certainly changes things, it may not be the end of things. Every new medium changes journalism and changes how people read. Fortunately, “traditional journalistic practices transfer to the web.”

Grosswiler is providing his students with information and teaching them techniques that will be applicable to both print and internet journalism. This is different from when he entered the world of journalism, which was “right after the Watergate era…So it’s like ancient history right?”

Julia Payne, a 27-year-old marketing associate from Holden, Maine.

No Payne, No Gain

By Alison Bromley

There are probably a million kids who want to grow up to be an astronaut, a ballerina, or a veterinarian. The problem comes when they get older and realize they aren’t blessed with 20/20 vision, they’re stuck with two left feet, or learn that science and math don’t come so naturally. The latter was the case for Julia Payne, a “Vacationland” native who accidentally ended up in advertising.

Payne’s dream of becoming a vet “basically died” at John Bapst Memorial High School, a private college-preparatory institute in Bangor, Maine, when she discovered that her knack for writing outweighed the skills that she would’ve needed to get through eight years of veterinary school.

So Payne headed off to Dartmouth College in 2000, still unsure of where the future would take her. She listened to her family’s suggestions, grateful for the freedom they allowed her. “My parents encouraged me to take a variety of classes and really dig in to whatever I liked best, regardless of how it might affect a future career… I was very lucky to have parents who told me to study whatever the heck I wanted.”

She bided by their advice, later deciding to major in anthropology and studio art. Reflecting, Payne said, “Anthro came out of the blue. I had never even heard of it before I started college, but I stumbled on a class and loved it.” Payne focused on cultural anthropology, “which is really just a way of studying the daily habits of people around you, so it fits quite nicely with advertising.”

She stuck with it and found that advertising and marketing seemed to be recurring themes throughout her life. Though she didn’t realize it until later, Payne surrounded herself with marketing while she was growing up. She describes her bedroom walls in Maine as being “covered in collected magazine ads from the Absolut Vodka campaign” and “adorned with the logos and tags of various brands I liked.”

Payne had found her passion, so the next step was finding a job that fit. Of course the right one doesn’t always fall into your lap first. Julia had her earliest job at an ecology camp, and she later worked as a full-time nanny, a waitress, a baker, a rock climbing instructor, and more. Although Payne was just trying to pay the bills, she knew that these weren’t the trades she would end up in.

Payne enjoying her "pretty swanky" lifestyle.

Payne’s first job in advertising was at a small agency in Stamford, Connecticut. They had just a few clients and about 50 employees, but working there had perks that put her previous jobs to shame. She was pampered with trips, like a two-day photo shoot in Amsterdam, and with every-day treats. Payne enjoyed the free food, foosball, pool, flat screen television, toys, big couches, and colorful offices. She said, “It was instant fun, and I loved going to work every day.” 

Payne emphasized the lifestyle that comes with working in advertising, saying that it could be “pretty swanky.” Clients paid for everything, and the employees were spoiled. They were given free things and attended many events, including MTV affairs that were full of celebrities.

As for the actual work, Payne started where most people diving into advertising do: at the bottom of the ladder. She spent her time sending invoices, doing research and building presentations. “I literally spent days on end working on projects to highlight the differences in “wholesomeness” between Hilary Duff and Lindsay Lohan,” said Payne. Her tasks seemed like a “constant contest to be creative,” but doing them was the easiest way to move up the so-called ladder. “When you have to report back on 14 different kinds of gum brands, you start to realize how silly it is. But as I worked my way up, I got more responsibility.”

As with any job, Payne found that advertising wasn’t always fun. Some of her co-workers hated having to obey client’s useless requests, and others had problems with the “huge” egos of advertising executives.
 
An even bigger problem for Payne, and the company of course, was that those executives weren’t prepared for when their biggest client switched to a flashy agency in New York City. They had to fire half of the company in only one day. Payne wasn’t let go, but she said “things were so dead and morale was so low afterwards that I just had to get out.  All my friends were gone, and we were drowning.”
 

Payne and her husband, Dan Bailin, on the coast of Maine.

Serendipity brought Payne to her current job as an account coordinator at North Castle Partners, a private equity firm in Greenwich, Connecticut. They needed someone to market their services, so she jumped in and was able to use a lot of her skills there. However, the two jobs weren’t as closely related as they sound. Payne said she “learned quickly that advertising and marketing, while similar, are also very different animals.”

Payne’s job is to promote her company’s services to other companies, which is much different than marketing directly to the consumers. She is no longer trying to sell a candy bar to someone’s emotions in fifteen seconds. Now, she spends her time making “a rational argument full of rational numbers” to sell services, a process that can take up to two years and cost several million dollars.

Payne’s company has experienced a lot of growth in the past couple of years, and she rarely gets bored keeping up with it. She has learned a lot while accommodating their need for more and more marketing materials. She does presentations, webinars (interactive web-based seminars), budgets, planning, training, event coordination, and more. “I have learned to become a Swiss Army knife because people rely on me (and my small team) to be the face of our company.”

Payne is pleased to get paid much more at her current job, as advertising is notoriously low-salary when you’re first starting out. This is just one of the many reasons that the change of career was a better fit for her, but she doesn’t regret much about her unpaved path along the way. Payne said, “My philosophy is that nothing you do is ever wasted. You can and should pull lessons and meaning out of every job you have… Sure, driving southbound on I-95 every morning was a waste of gas and time, but that’s about it.”

Payne maintains that she’s still not ready to settle down. She fully plans on going back to school for her master’s degree in business administration and claims she’s just in “career development” until then. Eventually, Payne would like to return to Maine to work for the Board of Tourism.

Alison Bromley and Julia Payne on their "dead-end dirt road in a small town between a few hay fields."

Someday you’re going to venture out-of-state to find the advertising career of your dreams, assuming it wasn’t halted by astigmatism or two left feet. When you do, Julia Payne offers this advice:   “Take Maine with you.  When you enter the ad world, you will be surrounded by urban people who grew up in urban environments, doing and thinking urban things.  You will love the fashion and the fun of a more populated place, but don’t erase where you came from… Seriously, I actively tell people all the time that I was raised on a dead-end dirt road in a small town between a few hay fields…All these big-city people have been to Maine on vacation and they will think it’s so cool that you actually grew up there.  It will make you different and interesting, because you are a different slice of America. The #1 goal of advertising executives is to try to understand and connect to the people of “regular” America, not the urban America they already know.”

[Poll: What did you dream of becoming?]