Charity from Around the world on foot fashion couch-to-couchtee unveiled the current design, which...
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COLUMBIA MISSOURIAN FRIDAY, February 16, 2007 — Page 5A By WALE ALIYU, ALEX TRIBOU and CAROLINE ZILK [email protected] Imagine offering your couch to a complete stranger for the night, someone who could be visiting your city from anywhere in the world. To people known as couch-surfers, this doesn’t sound crazy. In Columbia, about 50 people belong to the Web site CouchSurfing.com, a free site that allows users to search for hosts all over the world. A couch-surfer is a visitor who sleeps on a host’s couch as an alternative to staying in a hotel. The host is generally a friendly stranger interested in meeting new people. “I found it to be the most fascinating way to get to know people,” said Lee, 29, a Columbia resident who said he did not want to give his last name because his parents might be concerned. While working as a member of the Peace Corps in Morocco, Lee hosted a couch-surfing couple from Slovenia and a French journalist. “The Slovenes brought me a bottle of home- made plum brandy, which we drank together on my roof,” he said. The French journalist who stayed with Lee brought coin purses from his recent trip to Thai- land and passed them out as gifts. Lee suggested that future couch-surfers bring a token of appreciation with them for their host during their stay. “People like gifts,” Lee said. “Especially things from far away, no matter how small or insignifi- cant.” Not only has Lee hosted visitors, but he too is a couch-surfer. A few years ago, Lee vis- ited and couch-surfed in Germany. Lee said he enjoyed his time in Germany and also liked the German cuisine. “For breakfast, I had zucchini soup covered with yeast flakes,” he said. “It was delicious.” Even though Lee was vacationing, his host had to continue her daily life. “She went to work actually,” he said. “So I hung out with her roommate who took me and their dog for a walk near the park.” This outing gave Lee a chance to bond with a new friend and ask questions about German culture. Right now, Lee is looking for a job in Washing- ton, D.C., and although he is staying with friends, not couch-surfers, he is touring the city with people he met on CouchSurfing.com. “I don’t like to just travel to places if I don’t know anybody there,” Lee said. “The first thing to do is to get to know people, but that’s tough. (The) CouchSurfing (Web site) makes that really easy.” The site is open to anyone 18 or older who has a personal e-mail address. Half of CouchSurf- ing.com’s users are between 18 and 25, the site says. After signing up, users create a profile, list their couch as an option for accommodation and search for potential hosts. Cynthia Woodcock, 38, a nurse practitioner from Columbia, hosted her first couch-surfer last month. Cesar Becerra, 34, stayed with her for a night during his stay in Columbia. The two new couch-surfing friends got along well. “On Friday Cesar made a big meal for us and I invited, like, six people over,” Woodcock said. During his stay in Columbia, Becerra said he enjoyed touring downtown and visiting the Ragtag Cinema, Lakota Coffee Co. and the Peace Nook. “I’m from big-city Miami, so this is a cool little town,” he said. Becerra’s goal is to walk across the country and eventually the world. CouchSurfing.com is a tool to help him do that. His host, Woodcock, is now visiting Africa. She said CouchSurfing.com helped her connect with people in Tanzania and do research about the country. During her research, a fellow couch- surfer volunteered to pick Woodcock up from the airport. “It’s such a great way to get past that superfi- cial shell that is out there and really get into the meat of things,” she said. Some members use the site to get tourism information before they travel, rather than as a way to find accommodations during a trip. Columbia resident Mike Rader, 20, has been a member of the site for about two years and said he uses the site to get tips on visiting new places. “I mainly use the site as a way to directly talk to some locals of a place that I’m going to be visiting,” he said. “I’m able to ask people my own age where the good bars are, where I should eat and what I should do, all months before I even go there.” Rader has not yet used the site to couch-surf, but it is something he wants to try. “Hopefully, someday, I will go surfing and meet all of these people that I talk to,” he said. “CouchSurfing is designed for those who are generally comfortable with new people and can trust their instincts,” said Abraham Haim in an e-mail from Israel, where the Columbia resident was traveling the country by day and sleeping on couches by night. “A friend told me about it just a couple weeks before I took off on this trip,” Haim said about his first real couch-surfing experience. According to CouchSurfing.com, the project “creates a better world” by encouraging its members to open up their homes, hearts and lives to fellow couch-surfers. “In the world today, and especially in the United States, there’s a culture of fear,” Haim said. “One of the goals of couch-surfing is to overcome that and build more of a culture of trust and mutual aid.” Cesar Becerra has been sleeping on couches in Columbia, but he is on the road to greater things. “I do a lot of different things,” he said. “Right now, I’m walking.” While walking the Appa- lachian Trail soon after being diagnosed with diabetes, he fell in love with long-distance walk- ing and made it his goal to walk around the world, excluding the oceans. When he is not walking, Becerra works as a tour guide in Washington, D.C., New York City and Bos- ton. He is also a teacher for Nature’s Classroom, a nonprofit environmental education organization in Greenfield, N.H. He started his journey three years ago from Key West, Fla., and made it to Clinton, last fall. In late February, Becerra will begin his walk again, this time from Clinton to Topeka, Kan. He plans to walk across Kansas and continue westward. His final U.S. destination is Los Angeles. After that, Becerra said he will jump a cargo ship to Tokyo to continue his journey. He said if he is success- ful, he would be the fifth person to walk around the world. “I met one of the four world-walkers, and I want to be number five.” — Caroline Zilk and Alex Tribou State officials are seeking input from citizens by asking them to vote for their favorite plate. By REBEKAH HEIL [email protected] Missourians can go online to vote on the design for a new state license plate through March 5 by going to dory.dor.mo.gov/dor/voteplate/. “This is a fun thing to do,” said Trish Vincent, director of the Mis- souri Department of Revenue. “We’re trying to have a good time with this. We want Missourians to have a voice about what plates go on their cars.” The three plate finalists, created by a private design firm, were selected by the License Plate Advisory Com- mittee, whose members included Vin- cent and representatives from the Missouri State Highway Patrol, the state House and Senate transportation committees and Missouri Vocational Enterprises, a unit of the Department of Corrections that manufactures Missouri license plates. The last time Missouri got new plates was in 1996, when the commit- tee unveiled the current design, which was created by St. Louis artist Bill O’Donnell. It replaced maroon plates that had been in use since 1979. The redesign in progress is a requirement of legislation passed in 2004. Maura Browning, the Depart- ment of Revenue’s public informa- tion officer, said the new plates will improve visibility for law enforce- ment and help reduce the theft of renewal tabs. “The true reason to have a license plate is for law enforcement, and I think a lot of us forget that, myself included,” Browning said. Vincent said the new plate design will also prevent renewal tab thefts. “The new plate will be something the Highway Patrol can use to combat fraud and expiration of plates,” she said. “We have some significant tab theft issues in major metropolitan areas.” In the past, thieves have cut off the renewal tabs on the corner of plates. As a deterrent, the Department of Revenue started advising people to put their renewal tabs in the center of the plate, even though there is not a designated place in the center of the current plates. The new plate design will have des- ignated space in the middle for the month and year tabs, making them more difficult to steal. The new license plates will also help the revenue department ensure that everyone is taxed correctly and that St. Louis residents’ cars pass emis- sions tests. “These plates are for enforcement. They are not an ornament for the vehicle,” Vincent said. Members of the License Plate Advisory Committee will display the plates and answer questions at three open meetings in Springfield, St. Louis and Kansas City in the coming weeks. A computer will be available at the meetings for Missourians to vote when they see the plates. “It will be a nice opportunity for people to understand why new plates are a good idea,” Browning said. The new plate will be issued in 2008 or 2009 and implemented over two years. MEETINGS SET The License Plate Advisory Committee will hold three meetings across the state to answer questions and display the designs. Springfield 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. today Troop D Missouri State Highway Patrol Headquarters 3131 E. Kearney St. Kansas City 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. Feb. 23 Troop A Highway Patrol Headquarters 504 E. Blue Parkway Lee’s Summit St. Louis 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. March 2 Troop C Highway Patrol Headquarters 599 S. Mason Road VOTE ONLINE AT: dory.dor.mo.gov/dor/voteplate/ Mo. moving toward new look for license plates Entertainment news correspondent to host show in Columbia. By BRENDEN CLARK [email protected] Jann Carl of “Entertainment Tonight” will merge two of her interests this week- end when she returns to Columbia to host the “Model Citizen Fashion Show.” The show will benefit the MU Thompson Center for Autism and Neurodevelopmen- tal Disorders. Carl has supported related causes since her son was diagnosed with epilepsy. The show will also bring Carl back to the town where her mother lives, and MU, where she graduated with a journalism degree in 1982. “I think it’s fun and upbeat and creative,” Carl said of the benefit. “It showcases the Thompson Cen- ter and shows the emerging designers in the area.” The benefit will feature the creations of stu- dent designers from MU and Stephens Col- lege, as well as clothing from boutiques and larger stores in Columbia, Kan- sas City and St. Louis. Marianne Thompson, a senior major- ing in textile and apparel management at MU, came up with the idea for the fash- ion show. Her uncle and aunt, Bill and Nancy Thompson, made the $8.5 million donation to finance the center in 2005. “We really wanted something different. There are always so many formal char- ity events,” said Cheri Ghan, director of external relations for the School of Health Professions and the Thompson Center. This will be the first fundraiser for the center, which leases space at 300 Portland St. behind Columbia Regional Hospital. “This is a real introduction of the Thomp- son Center to the community, and it’s excit- ing to do that with such a fun event to kick it off,” Ghan said. By Thursday, almost 600 people had bought tickets to the runway show and 350 of those had purchased tickets for a recep- tion beforehand and a party afterward. The Thompson Center conducts research and provides treatment, therapy and infor- mation on autism and other neurological disorders. The center also teaches students how to work with patients. Disorders relat- ed to autism affect one out of 150 people, Ghan said. “The more we learn we learn about these disorders the more we can help,” Carl said. FASHION FRENZY What: Model Citizen Fash- ion Show, a benefit for the MU Thompson Center for Autism and Neurodevelop- mental Disorders When: 8 p.m. Saturday Where: Holiday Inn Select, 2200 I-70 Drive SW Admission: Reservations must be made by 4 p.m. today by calling 882-2099. Tickets cost $75 for a 6:30 p.m. wine reception, runway show at 8 p.m. and a chocolate and cham- pagne party; $25 for the runway show only. Student tickets, $15, are available at the box office in Brady Commons, MU. Charity fashion show to debut Photos courtesy of Missouri Department of Revenue Residents can vote online for one of these three license plates designs. WALE ALIYU/Missourian Couch-surfer Cesar Becerra enjoys a snack at Columbia resident Cynthia Woodcock’s home before he goes to bed. Becerra, who is travelling the world on foot, uses CouchSurfing.com to find host couches. Travelers stay with strangers to save money and make friends couch-to-couch from “I found it to be the most fascinating way to get to know people.” LEE a 29-year-old Columbia resident and frequent couch-surfer Around the world on foot
Transcript of Charity from Around the world on foot fashion couch-to-couchtee unveiled the current design, which...
Columbia missourian FRIDAY, February 16, 2007 — Page 5A
By WALE ALIYU, ALEX TRIBOU and CAROLINE [email protected]
Imagine offering your couch to a complete stranger for the night, someone who could be visiting your city from anywhere in the world.
To people known as couch-surfers, this doesn’t sound crazy.
In Columbia, about 50 people belong to the Web site CouchSurfing.com, a free site that allows users to search for hosts all over the world. A couch-surfer is a visitor who sleeps on a host’s couch as an alternative to staying in a hotel. The host is generally a friendly stranger interested in meeting new people.
“I found it to be the most fascinating way to get to know people,” said Lee, 29, a Columbia resident who said he did not want to give his last name because his parents might be concerned.
While working as a member of the Peace Corps in Morocco, Lee hosted a couch-surfing couple from Slovenia and a French journalist.
“The Slovenes brought me a bottle of home-made plum brandy, which we drank together on my roof,” he said.
The French journalist who stayed with Lee brought coin purses from his recent trip to Thai-land and passed them out as gifts.
Lee suggested that future couch-surfers bring a token of appreciation with them for their host during their stay.
“People like gifts,” Lee said. “Especially things from far away, no matter how small or insignifi-cant.”
Not only has Lee hosted visitors, but he too is a couch-surfer. A few years ago, Lee vis-ited and couch-surfed in Germany. Lee said he enjoyed his time in Germany and also liked the German cuisine. “For breakfast, I had zucchini soup covered with yeast flakes,” he said. “It was delicious.”
Even though Lee was vacationing, his host had to continue her daily life. “She went to work actually,” he said. “So I hung out with her
roommate who took me and their dog for a walk near the park.”
This outing gave Lee a chance to bond with a new friend and ask questions about German culture.
Right now, Lee is looking for a job in Washing-ton, D.C., and although he is staying with friends, not couch-surfers, he is touring the city with people he met on CouchSurfing.com.
“I don’t like to just travel to places if I don’t know anybody there,” Lee said. “The first thing to do is to get to know people, but that’s tough. (The) CouchSurfing (Web site) makes that really easy.”
The site is open to anyone 18 or older who has a personal e-mail address. Half of CouchSurf-ing.com’s users are between 18 and 25, the site says.
After signing up, users create a profile, list their couch as an option for accommodation and search for potential hosts.
Cynthia Woodcock, 38, a nurse practitioner from Columbia, hosted her first couch-surfer last month. Cesar Becerra, 34, stayed with her for a night during his stay in Columbia. The two new couch-surfing friends got along well.
“On Friday Cesar made a big meal for us and I invited, like, six people over,” Woodcock said.
During his stay in Columbia, Becerra said he enjoyed touring downtown and visiting the Ragtag Cinema, Lakota Coffee Co. and the Peace Nook. “I’m from big-city Miami, so this is a cool little town,” he said.
Becerra’s goal is to walk across the country and eventually the world. CouchSurfing.com is a tool to help him do that.
His host, Woodcock, is now visiting Africa. She said CouchSurfing.com helped her connect with people in Tanzania and do research about the country. During her research, a fellow couch-surfer volunteered to pick Woodcock up from the airport.
“It’s such a great way to get past that superfi-cial shell that is out there and really get into the meat of things,” she said.
Some members use the site to get tourism information before they travel, rather than as a way to find accommodations during a trip.
Columbia resident Mike Rader, 20, has been a member of the site for about two years and said he uses the site to get tips on visiting new places.
“I mainly use the site as a way to directly talk to some locals of a place that I’m going to be visiting,” he said. “I’m able to ask people my own age where the good bars are, where I should eat and what I should do, all months before I even go there.”
Rader has not yet used the site to couch-surf, but it is something he wants to try.
“Hopefully, someday, I will go surfing and meet all of these people that I talk to,” he said.
“CouchSurfing is designed for those who are generally comfortable with new people and can trust their instincts,” said Abraham Haim in an e-mail from Israel, where the Columbia resident was traveling the country by day and sleeping on couches by night.
“A friend told me about it just a couple weeks before I took off on this trip,” Haim said about his first real couch-surfing experience.
According to CouchSurfing.com, the project “creates a better world” by encouraging its members to open up their homes, hearts and lives to fellow couch-surfers.
“In the world today, and especially in the United States, there’s a culture of fear,” Haim said. “One of the goals of couch-surfing is to overcome that and build more of a culture of trust and mutual aid.”
Cesar Becerra has been sleeping on couches in Columbia, but he is on the road to greater things.
“I do a lot of different things,” he said. “Right now, I’m walking.”
While walking the Appa-lachian Trail soon after being diagnosed with diabetes, he fell in love with long-distance walk-ing and made it his goal to walk around the world, excluding the oceans.
When he is not walking, Becerra works as a tour guide in Washington, D.C., New York City and Bos-ton. He is also a teacher for Nature’s Classroom, a nonprofit environmental education organization in Greenfield, N.H.
He started his journey three years ago from Key West, Fla., and made it to Clinton, last fall. In late February, Becerra will begin his walk again, this time from Clinton to Topeka, Kan. He plans to walk across Kansas and continue westward. His final U.S. destination is Los Angeles.
After that, Becerra said he will jump a cargo ship to Tokyo to continue his journey.
He said if he is success-ful, he would be the fifth person to walk around the world. “I met one of the four world-walkers, and I want to be number five.”
— Caroline Zilk and Alex Tribou
State officials are seeking input from citizens by asking them to vote for their favorite plate.By REBEKAH [email protected]
Missourians can go online to vote on the design for a new state license plate through March 5 by going to dory.dor.mo.gov/dor/voteplate/.
“This is a fun thing to do,” said Trish Vincent, director of the Mis-souri Department of Revenue.
“We’re trying to have a good time with this. We want Missourians to have a voice about what plates go on their cars.”
The three plate finalists, created by a private design firm, were selected by the License Plate Advisory Com-mittee, whose members included Vin-cent and representatives from the Missouri State Highway Patrol, the state House and Senate transportation committees and Missouri Vocational Enterprises, a unit of the Department of Corrections that manufactures Missouri license plates.
The last time Missouri got new plates was in 1996, when the commit-tee unveiled the current design, which was created by St. Louis artist Bill O’Donnell. It replaced maroon plates that had been in use since 1979.
The redesign in progress is a requirement of legislation passed in 2004. Maura Browning, the Depart-ment of Revenue’s public informa-tion officer, said the new plates will improve visibility for law enforce-ment and help reduce the theft of renewal tabs.
“The true reason to have a license plate is for law enforcement, and I think a lot of us forget that, myself included,” Browning said.
Vincent said the new plate design will also prevent renewal tab thefts.
“The new plate will be something the Highway Patrol can use to combat fraud and expiration of plates,” she said. “We have some significant tab theft issues in major metropolitan areas.”
In the past, thieves have cut off the renewal tabs on the corner of plates. As a deterrent, the Department of Revenue started advising people to
put their renewal tabs in the center of the plate, even though there is not a designated place in the center of the current plates.
The new plate design will have des-ignated space in the middle for the month and year tabs, making them more difficult to steal.
The new license plates will also help the revenue department ensure that everyone is taxed correctly and that St. Louis residents’ cars pass emis-sions tests.
“These plates are for enforcement. They are not an ornament for the vehicle,” Vincent said.
Members of the License Plate Advisory Committee will display the plates and answer questions at three open meetings in Springfield, St. Louis and Kansas City in the coming weeks. A computer will be available at the meetings for Missourians to vote when they see the plates.
“It will be a nice opportunity for people to understand why new plates are a good idea,” Browning said.
The new plate will be issued in 2008 or 2009 and implemented over two years.
MeeTings seT The License Plate Advisory Committee will hold three meetings across the state to answer questions and display the designs.
springfield11 a.m. to 1 p.m. today
Troop D Missouri State Highway Patrol Headquarters
3131 E. Kearney St.
Kansas City11 a.m. to 1 p.m. Feb. 23
Troop A Highway Patrol Headquarters
504 E. Blue Parkway
Lee’s Summit
st. Louis11 a.m. to 1 p.m. March 2
Troop C Highway Patrol Headquarters
599 S. Mason Road
VoTe onLine AT:dory.dor.mo.gov/dor/voteplate/
Mo. moving toward new look for license plates
Entertainment news correspondent to host show in Columbia.By BRENDEN [email protected]
Jann Carl of “Entertainment Tonight” will merge two of her interests this week-end when she returns to Columbia to host the “Model Citizen Fashion Show.”
The show will benefit the MU Thompson Center for Autism and Neurodevelopmen-tal Disorders. Carl has supported related causes since her son was diagnosed with epilepsy.
The show will also bring Carl back to the town where her mother lives, and MU, where she graduated with a journalism degree in 1982.
“I think it’s fun and upbeat and creative,” Carl said of the benefit. “It showcases the
Thompson Cen-ter and shows the emerging designers in the area.”
The benefit will feature the creations of stu-dent designers from MU and Stephens Col-lege, as well as clothing from boutiques and larger stores in Columbia, Kan-sas City and St. Louis.
M a r i a n n e Thompson, a senior major-ing in textile and apparel management at MU, came up with the idea for the fash-ion show. Her uncle and aunt,
Bill and Nancy Thompson, made the $8.5 million donation to finance the center in 2005.
“We really wanted something different. There are always so many formal char-ity events,” said Cheri Ghan, director of external relations for the School of Health Professions and the Thompson Center.
This will be the first fundraiser for the center, which leases space at 300 Portland St. behind Columbia Regional Hospital. “This is a real introduction of the Thomp-son Center to the community, and it’s excit-ing to do that with such a fun event to kick it off,” Ghan said.
By Thursday, almost 600 people had bought tickets to the runway show and 350 of those had purchased tickets for a recep-tion beforehand and a party afterward.
The Thompson Center conducts research and provides treatment, therapy and infor-mation on autism and other neurological disorders. The center also teaches students how to work with patients. Disorders relat-ed to autism affect one out of 150 people, Ghan said.
“The more we learn we learn about these disorders the more we can help,” Carl said.
FAshion FrenZyWhat: Model Citizen Fash-ion Show, a benefit for the MU Thompson Center for Autism and Neurodevelop-mental Disorders
When: 8 p.m. Saturday
Where: Holiday Inn Select, 2200 I-70 Drive SW
Admission: Reservations must be made by 4 p.m. today by calling 882-2099. Tickets cost $75 for a 6:30 p.m. wine reception, runway show at 8 p.m. and a chocolate and cham-pagne party; $25 for the runway show only. Student tickets, $15, are available at the box office in Brady Commons, MU.
Charity fashion show to debut
Photos courtesy of Missouri Department of Revenue
residents can vote online for one of these three license plates designs.
WALE ALIYU/Missourian
Couch-surfer Cesar Becerra enjoys a snack at Columbia resident Cynthia Woodcock’s home before he goes to bed. Becerra, who is travelling the world on foot, uses Couchsurfing.com to find host couches.
Travelers stay with strangers to save money and make friends
couch-to-couchfrom
“I found it to be the most fascinating way to get to know people.”
LEEa 29-year-old Columbia resident and frequent couch-surfer
Around the world on foot
