May 15, 2008

Here’s Nick now
A 20-year-old has (had) $50 and a dream
By Alec O'Meara aomeara@hippopress.com

New York native Nick Galusha, 20, is one week into a mission that he expects to take 10 to 14 months — to visit all 50 states on a total budget of $50. On Wednesday, May 8, Galusha arrived in Manchester, the third state on his list, with 67 cents in his pocket and a goal to hit the rest of New England’s major cities in about a week. Galusha’s travels can be monitored from his Web site, WheresNickNow.com

Q:Why have you decided to see the country like this?
The way it came to be was that I was living in central Nebraska as a news producer and I had always been a firm believer in humanity, but I started reading all these different crime stories of horrific things that were happening ... So I decided to start traveling the country to meet more people and to try and restore my faith in humanity.

Where have you been so far?
I started in New York, and I spent two nights in Syracuse and two in Burlington before coming here. I do want to try and go to more than one city in each state when I can, and not just focus on either the capital or the biggest city in a state. I think that’s the best way to see both big-city people and small-town people.

Is Manchester your only stop in New Hampshire? Why did you select the city?
I don’t know much about New Hampshire, but I decided to come to Manchester because I had heard good things about it. I think this may be my only stop here, because my plans have changed a little. In Syracuse, I was sitting around and watching The Price is Right with the people I was staying with, and we thought it would be cool if as part of the trip I could make it onto a game show. So I called up the studio for Who Wants to be a Millionaire, and I landed an audition on the 14th, so I have to get to New York City by the 14th now.

You arrived at 7 p.m. last night. What have you thought of Manchester and New Hampshire thus far?
I think the first thing that I noticed was the number of people that were outside. I think that’s a really great way to judge a city’s character is by the number of people that are comfortable outside. I saw a lot of people outside their cars, a lot of bikers and a lot of cyclists. ... I thought a lot of the small diners were really cool, and a lot of the political history. ... I went to the MAP Room [the Underground M.A.P. Project at 76 Lowell St. in Manchester] last night, that’s music, arts and performance ... I’m definitely not a singer, but I decided to sing a song with a guy named John from Richmond. It was a lot of fun, and that’s what the trip is all about, because I’m trying to break down barriers. I can tell you now that even though I started the trip last week, that I am going to completely be a different person by the end of the trip.

What impressions have you gotten from the people here?
I just got a really friendly vibe. When I first got into town, there was this group of motorcyclists on one side of the street, and on the other side there was this group of cyclists. You know, guys with BMX bikes doing tricks and stuff. The two groups had this weird sort of bonding moment, where they pointed at each other, and a guy on bicycle did a wheelie, and then a guy on a motorcycle did a wheelie. I don’t know, it was just a weird moment between strangers.

What sort of contacts are you using to not sleep on the street any given night?
There’s actually a very huge community of online travelers, mostly of college students. There’s actually a MySpace-type Web site called couchsurf.com and basically if a traveler is coming to your city, or if you want to travel to a city, then there are people that allow you to sleep on the couch. It’s become my favorite way to travel. ... I stayed with a nice guy named Jason, who works for Southern New Hampshire University, that was really into my trip from the get-go. He was nice enough not only to show me around, but gave me a couple of loaves of bread for the trip and some contacts for friends of his all over the country.

What’s in your pocket for money right now?
Uh, about 67 cents. I have, however, gotten donations from my Web site. This was actually a really scary thing in Burlington. As soon as I got into town, I was below “E” ... I had $200 in my donation account online. What I didn’t know was that it takes two to three business days to get the money from PayPal. ...

What are you driving?
I actually am driving a truck, a Chevy S10, which is probably the worst possible thing I could drive, but I was young when I bought it and I wanted a truck. I’m stuck with it.... I have to get to Portland, Boston, Hartford and Providence before May 14 for the game show.
— Alec O’Meara