University of New England: Emma Bouthillette

This year, the Heart of Biddeford along with local businesses held the Third Annual Chalk on the Walk.

This gathering included artist, local businesses, politicians of the city and of course the kids who just came for the fun of drawing on the road and sidewalks. There was food offered, artists selling their crafts and a band gearing up to play into the afternoon. Artist were paired with businesses and given space to create original or replicate works of art. Anyone else could register just for the fun of the craft and create beautiful, colorful images on the ground up and down Main Street and Adams Street, with the center of the action being in the City Square behind the City Hall.

Here are two artist working on Adams Street as the crowds mulled around.

There were also local businesses set up around the city center. One company had an original product to sell...and you had to help make it!

...yep bicycle powered blender making some fresh smoothies!

The rest of the pictures are of completed works on Adams Street and Main Street.

It was a fun way to brighten up the streets of Biddeford and bring the community together!

Posted by Emma Bouthillette at 5:02 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

So UNE is settled in along the mouth of the Saco River, and right across the bay is Mile Stretch and Biddeford Pool. While Biddeford Pool is home to many rich out of staters, it is also home to fishermen and lobstermen. The dock down at the end of Yates Street is where I learned how to fish, where I've played with lobsters, smelt the worst bait and seen some amazing tuna hauled up from a family friend's boat.

The boat, Sea Wench, has been a pleasure boat supported on the finances of catching and selling BIG tuna. So what? is what some people have said to me. My response is always...They caught this huge fish on this small rod. It took them 2-3 hours to reel in. Without that fish, they couldn't keep the boat, and they couldn't keep doing what they love.

Anyway, the point of all this is that there are fishy things happening down there, and its always fun to hang around and watch what's coming off the boats...or just watch the beautiful scenery...

...last week it was sunrise...this week sunset...it never gets old to me.
Even the pup enjoyed watching the activity.

This is their flag they get to fly...

...not that they are bragging or anything.
And this is Kyle, the owner's son, who reeled in this fatty tuna. He's just a little happy.

He caught it on a much smaller rod than they usually use (it's also a tad smaller than what they have caught in the past) but that makes for two fish sales this year. Congrats boys!

Posted by Emma Bouthillette at 3:47 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Yes! I have conquered the iPhoto and figured out how to change the image size!!!
Here are those photos I promised:

We woke up at 4am and were the first people in America to see the sun rise (eastern Maine is literally the first spot in the USA to glimpse the sun each morning)

So by 11:00 am this is what my groupies looked like (I caught them with their eyes open)

Here's the lobsterman (Dixon) crazy enough to take us kids on his boat for the day.

...and here is his trusty stern man Patrick (he did all the dirty work).

Ok...so now that I've figured this out, hopefully I can remember so I can share some more amazing pics with you all :D

Posted by Emma Bouthillette at 10:23 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

This is the audio portion of my group's presentation about our day on a lobster boat, the hardworking lobstermen of Down East, Maine, and the new line regulations that threaten their livelihood.

The sound isn't great, but just turn up the volume and listen carefully. This is a great example of why I'm in the writing track and not the audi!

Posted by University of New England at 7:39 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

There is SO much more to this state than most realize. A hugh chunk of life and activity occurs Down East. Which, to most, this term is confusing. All it means is the section of Maine on the northern part of the coastline that reaches the furthest east...so Down East...get it?

Anyway, the faculty at Salt decided to send us students on an adventcah! to Machias...about 4 and 1/2 hours north of the University Campus in Biddeford. The class of 35 students was divided into 7 groups of 5 and shoved into volunteering vehicles and we trained it up the coast. Arriving at 7:30pm Friday evening, after a full day of classwork, we were all ready to crash at University of Maine Machias. My group headed to bed right after dinner because our plan was to hunt down some fishermen early the next morn. Our meeting time was 4:00am.

Piling into the car we all had our own grumbles about it being TOO early, but little did we know how well that would pay off. By 5:00am we were chatting it up with some lobstermen eating their breakfast at the local cafe. By 6:30 we were aboard Size Matters, Dixon Smith's 41 foot Libby lobstering boat.

We spent six hours rocking and rolling on the bay while we watched Dixon and his stern man, Patrick, haul and clean lobster traps. It was amazing...and smelly. One of my best experiences out on the water.

Our mission of the day was to find a story that would help define the Machias area of Maine as well as interest people. We had accomplished that and were proud of ourselves for the work we had done. Our reward was the freshest lobster ever and a relaxing afternoon chatting with Dixon back at his house.

Of course the pay off was that we were able to compile a presentation for the student body and faculty which was presented this past Friday. Everyone presented the story they found and the faculty was rather impressed with the work all 35 of us did in the first 10 days at Salt.

It was a crash course into what our semester would be like...and I couldn't have asked for a better experience.

Pictures and a podcast to follow...as soon as I can work out the technical gliches of file sizes being too big. Any suggestions are gladly accepted.

Posted by Emma Bouthillette at 7:16 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Oh its the most wonderful time of the year.
Back to school!
Books have been bought. Notebooks are crisp. Pens are full.

Who cares right?

Cars are packed and unpacked. We are back in the dorms and beach houses. Friends reunite.

This year feels different to me though for multiple reasons.
1) I moved out of my parents house.
2) I'm spending a semester in Portland at the Salt Institute for Documentary Studies.
3) This is it. SENIOR year. In 9 months I will be a college graduate (yiikes!!!)

I am excited for finally being on my own. Anxious to start something so new like Salt. Stressed because the syllabus for Salt is overwhelming. And bittersweet to enter my last year of college not knowing what I want to be doing come May.

So expect to hear from me this year a lot of off-campus related activities/events...because seniors get the luxury of renting beautiful beach houses along the coast. As well as hope it feels to be in the last year of college. It is not as cut and dry as the last year of high school. But of course...I will also have some wonderful pictures and quirky anticdotes to share with you my friends as I finally feel that life is all happening.

Posted by Emma Bouthillette at 8:29 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)