CS newsletter for the Netherlands: Difference between revisions

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[[CS Newsletter for the Netherlands 2010.1]]
[[CS Newsletter for the Netherlands 2010.1]]


Draft 2nd newsletter
[[CS Newsletter for the Netherlands 2010.2]]
 
Draft 3nd newsletter


=Heading=
=Heading=


Queensday 2010. Who parties along?
=CouchSurfers meeting up=
 
 
=CouchSurfers meeting up (rechterbalk)=
 
===Queensday 2010. Who parties along?===
 
Most people who come to the Netherlands have heard about it at least once. The day that all Dutch people act even more silly than usual. The day that the country is orange. And the day that everyone is (beyond) drunk.
Queensday is a national holiday in The Netherlands. We celebrate Queensday in its original date since 1949. Before that time Queensday was celebrated on august 31st. In 1948 her daughter, Juliana, became Queen and the holiday moved to April 30th. Back in the days, Queensday wasn’t much than just a regular working day and the birthdate of the Queen. The royal family never attended any festivities. There was just a flurar tribute that people could watch on the TV. After a few years, more and more people got the day off and Queensday became the national holiday of the year.
Our current Queen is born on January 31st, but we still celebrate Queensday on April 30th. As most of you know, you can never count on the Dutch weather and especially during winter time it isn’t reliable at all. Queen Beatrix therefore decided to honor her mother by keeping Queensday on April 30th, but also to have a bigger chance of a sunny day.
 
Nowadays, the royal family also attends and participates in activities. Every year, the royal family visits a city somewhere in the country. This year the royal family visits Middelburg and Vlissingen in the province of Zeeland. The fact that the Royal family does this is something most Dutch appreciate a lot. You feel a bit connected to the people who are usually not approachable.
'''Couchsurfing the night before!
'''
 
For Couchsurfing, Queensday means not just a DAY of activities and parties. No, we have a WEEK filled with fun things!
 
Couchsurfing starts the week traditionally during Queensnight with events in The Hague, Amsterdam and Utrecht. Originally, The Hague was the first city to celebrate Queensnight with a lot of live music throughout the whole city. Soon after other cities followed The Hague’s example. CS The Hague organizes a fun night in [http://www.couchsurfing.org/meetings.html?mid=67418 The Hague] with traditional Dutch food and partying in the center. 
In [http://www.couchsurfing.org/meetings.html?mid=62852 Amsterdam] they know how to party, too! During Queensnight you can join the CS Amsterdam members in a pub in the very typical Amsterdam surrounding; the Jordaan district. ‘A great opportunity to meet other CS members and dodgy locals’ reads their meeting page.
 
Ever played Musical Chairs? I’m sure you did. It is a nostalgic game which you can play In [http://www.couchsurfing.org/meetings.html?mid=64743 Utrecht]. Utrecht has also one of the biggest Queensday flee markets of the country, which opens during Queensnight. Get there early with fellow CS’ers and get the best stuff first. Or just make a game out of finding the weirdest, craziest rubbish. Really, be amazed by what people used to have in their homes and now want to sell to you!
 
Also smaller cities have parties during queensnight. [http://www.couchsurfing.org/meetings.html?mid=67641 Enschede] for instance has a free party with DJ's and also a CouchSurfing meeting.
 
'''Queensday'''
 
Partied hard during Queensnight? Well, take a ibu, get a new beer and suck it up. There is no time to sleep because the party continues.
The place to be on Queensday is [http://www.couchsurfing.org/meetings.html?mid=62856 Amsterdam]. Over half a million people visit the country’s capital to celebrate the Queen’s birthday. Throughout the city there are parties everywhere, people are selling things and you’ll find the traditional games. Don’t look weird if people try to make money by giving you a kiss, hug or whatever. The Dutch are always keen on money and Queensday is the best opportunity to make some profit.
The biggest party for Couchsurfing is also in Amsterdam. Right where it all happens. CS Amsterdam is organizing a real CS-Camp down in the Vondelpark. The park is a nice place to relax, raise your energy for the next party, chat with other CS’ers, play music and have a BBQ together. Besides that, walk around the city center! It will be crowded and you move slowly, but the experience is something to never forget.
 
If you feel you haven’t partied enough by the end of the day; you might want to head east. [http://www.couchsurfing.org/meetings.html?mid=68347 Zwolle] organizes their first Monthly meeting! CS Zwolle chose Queensday as a the kick-off for their regular meeting; which better day to start with it? It starts at 20.00 so it is a great opportunity for an after party.
 
'''I still have plenty of energy left: what’s next?'''
 
Don’t worry! As said before, CS Netherlands has a week filled with activities! Other activities you can enjoy are:
• May 1st – Rural Cinema in [http://www.couchsurfing.org/meetings.html?mid=60092 Wognum].
Ever watched a movie with special effects by frogs, birds and other animals?
 
• May 1st – Windmills & Cheapthrills in [http://www.couchsurfing.org/meetings.html?mid=66089 Dordrecht].
Get a view of the beautiful islands, windmills and other dutch scenics around Dordrecht.
 
• May 4th – Memorial day service at the Damsquare – [http://www.couchsurfing.org/meetings.html?mid=62867 Amsterdam].
The day that we all remember the World War II victims with a beautiful service at the Damsquare.
 
• May 5th – Liberation Day Music Festival – [http://www.couchsurfing.org/meetings.html?mid=57513 Zwolle]
To celebrate our freedom and the end of WW II every provincial capital city organizes several music events. CS Zwolle has a gathering for those interested.
 
• May 9th – Spring Forrest Hike 2010 – [http://www.couchsurfing.org/meetings.html?mid=60029 Oss]
Enjoy the nature with a nice, refreshing Hike!
 
'''One last tip:
'''
 
Wear orange! So get an orange t-shirt, paint your face orange, buy a weird wick or be creative differently. It doesn't matter how you do it, as long as you do it. Orange is the keyword!
 
===The 24 hour train race project SPELLING CHECKED===
 
The Netherlands is probably the only decent country where it is possible to travel by train through every provincial capital in just one day.
 
This time table is tested:
 
http://www.rosenbrand.net/cs/timetable.pdf
 
The start and end will be in Amsterdam, but there are plenty of cities in the Randstad area where from you can join as well.
For people who live further out: all cities part of [http://www.ns.nl/cs/Satellite?blobcol=urldata&blobheader=application%2Fpdf&blobheadername1=Content-Disposition&blobheadername2=MDT-Type&blobheadervalue1=attachment%3B+filename%3D51%2F813%2FNachtnettreinenlijnenkaart.pdf&blobheadervalue2=abinary%3B+charset%3DUTF-8&blobkey=id&blobtable=MungoBlobs&blobwhere=1208879563070&ssbinary=true NachtNet] are available to find a couch in.
 
Preparation:
 
There are several pretty cheap options to get your dayticket. Kruidvat sells daytickets for only 14,90. The red ticket is valid on the right day. At several Kruidvat stores they are already sold out, but you can still get them pretty cheap at www.marktplaats.nl
With discount otherwise the ticket is 26,80 (there will be plenty of people with a NS-subscribtion at the meeting, so your discount ticket will be valid).
 
Food:
 
The timetable doesn't give much time to get food outside of the train stations. But we have plenty of time to make our own in the train. Let's make it a challenge to make as much food as possible in the train!
Also don't forget to bring drinks. It is allowed to drink alcohol in Dutch trains.
 
Entertainment:
 
Your not allowed to play electric music in trains, but I'm sure we can also get creative in here. There are plenty of games we can play in the train. Let's also make it a challenge to come up with the most crazy games!
 
An extra challenge could be to make a picture with you and as much city-signs as possible!
 
Visitors:
 
Of course you don't have to do the entire journey. We would love to get visitors along the track. Do you live in a tiny village, that only has a train station? This is finally your chance to join in in a CS meeting!
 
Just check the timetable:
http://www.rosenbrand.net/cs/timetable.pdf
 
Sign up [http://www.couchsurfing.org/meetings.html?mid=68094 here]
 
===Family Meeting on Kijkduin beach, The Hague SPELLING CHECKED===
 
We are happy to organize the very first [http://www.couchsurfing.org/meetings.html?mid=66973 Family Meeting] in the Netherlands.
 
The beach is a perfect place to meet for families and share experiences under a (hopefully) bright blue sky, while barefoot children play games in the sand.
We meet at 10.30 o'clock under the lighthouse near the parking and bus stop in Kijkduin, before going down to the beach (right side). Here the children (and parents too) can play games in groups like waterpaaltjes voeltbal, giant mikado and frisbee. Also individual games like poi and diabolo are fun to do or learn. Also there is the biggest swimming pool of the Netherlands: the sea!
 
If all families bring some food (enough for yourself and two others) we can have a huge picnic around 12.30 o'clock.
In the afternoon there is a yoga class and we'll build sandcastles and play more games.
 
If you want to join this event, sign up on the meeting page, we would like to know how many people are coming. Please bring friends who are not yet a member of CS as this is a perfect introduction to CouchSurfing.
 
What to bring: The usual stuff like towels and swim suits, favorite games of the children and food/drinks.
 
During the meeting you can contact us on 06 389 259 52
 
We hope to see you all on the 13th of June!
Greetings from [http://www.couchsurfing.org/people/onsplekkie/ Ilse, Maarten and Lilou]


===Visit the Deltaworks in Zeeland! SPELLING CHECKED===
==Grote zomermeetings in Europa==


The Dutch know how to manage the water. It's been a
More and more CouchSurfing communities are organising couchsurfing events this summer. Wherever you go, you can meetup with local couchsurfers.  
constant struggle in the past centuries, with the
lowpoint being a major flood in 1953 with thousands of people
drowning. Nowadays big dikes keeps the water out
succesfully. One of the major accomplishments in the
fight against the water is the 'Deltaworks' in
Zeeland, in the southwest corner of the Netherlands,
with the Eastern Scheldt storm surge barrier being the masterpiece.
The first part of the Deltaworks was built about 50
years ago, and the Eastern Dam was finished in 1986.
Check for more information:
http://www.deltawerken.com/23


I think both Dutch people and foreigners would love to see the
Below is a selection of interesting events:
Delta works with their own eyes. For me it's been a while as
well, so that's why I'm setting up a meeting event for June
5th. The enthusiasm was overwhelming in the first few
days with over 20 people signing up. We are working
on the program now, but it will include a
museum visit and a visit of the outside structures. It
could be a whole weekend event with camping for those who want to, or we could have a night program in a
city afterwards. It depends on you as well. Ideas and
suggestions are very welcome. So please [http://www.couchsurfing.org/meetings.html?mid=64443 sign up], and
let's make it a fun event! We'll keep you updated.


[http://www.couchsurfing.org/people/gils/ Harald]
July 16th - July 18th: Oostende, Belgium: [http://www.couchsurfing.org/meetings.html?mid=62713 CS Beach Weekend]


===Songfestival Meeting in Utrecht SPELLING CHECKED===
July 16th - July 18th: Champ-du-Boult, France: [http://www.couchsurfing.org/meetings.html?mid=53351 Normandy Summer camp]


Everybody has an opinion about the Eurovision Songfestival. Some like the music, some like the show, some think it is only favoritism, but everybody loves to see who gets 12 and who gets 0 points.
July 16th - July 21th: Brussels, Belgium: [http://www.couchsurfing.org/meetings.html?mid=72244 Brussels CS summer event]


*Will the Netherlands give 12 points to Turkey again?
July 23th - July 25th: Dundee, Scotland: [http://www.couchsurfing.org/meetings.html?mid=74886 Dundee Calling]
*Will the Scandinavians give all points to each other again?
*Will Turkey and Greece give points to each other?
*Will any of Turkeys neighbors give them points?
*Will the Netherlands finally reach the finals again?
*Are there still enough Poles in Ireland to give them 12 points?
and the most important one:
*Will Israel give points to Germany?


Of course we will also vote ourselves, we'll see who predicted the winner, but more important, we will see which songs the CouchSurfers actually DO like.  
July 23th - July 26th: Paris, France: [http://www.couchsurfing.org/meetings.html?mid=71291 Paris Rendez Vous]


Sing up [http://www.couchsurfing.org/meetings.html?mid=67969 here]
July 28th - August 1st: Pescosolido, Italy: [http://www.couchsurfing.org/meetings.html?mid=48567 Italy summer camp]


[http://www.couchsurfing.org/people/kilgoretrout/ Jasper]
July 30th - August 2nd: Aberdeen, Scotland: [http://www.couchsurfing.org/meetings.html?mid=66899 a summer camp on the stunning balmedie beach]


===Midsummernight in the park in Utrecht SPELLING CHECKED===
August 2nd - August 8th: Tokaj, Hungaria: [http://www.couchsurfing.org/meetings.html?mid=56737 Canoe tour]


Again Utrecht has prepared a whole weekend full of activities in the park around [http://www.couchsurfing.org/meetings.html?mid=57224 Midsummer Night]
August 6th - August 8th: Spychowo, Poland: [http://www.couchsurfing.org/meetings.html?mid=72666 II CS International Family Weekend (IFW)]


The submeetings are made, so [http://www.couchsurfing.org/meetings.html?mid=57224 sign up] before it is too late!
August 1st: Barcelona, Spain: [http://hitchgathering.org/barcelona Pre Gathering for the 3rd European Hitchhiking Gathering]


- Meeting each other with nice drinks and fun games
August 6th: Sines, Portugal: [http://www.couchsurfing.org/meetings.html?mid=69794 3rd European Hitchhiking Gathering]


- A crazy quest in the centre of Utrecht finding the lost CouchSurfer
August 27th - August 29th: Karisilla, Estonia: [http://www.couchsurfing.org/meetings.html?mid=74663 Summer camp in Setumaa]


- A chance to see the Netherlands play football against Japan in South Africa
September 2nd - September 5th: Milano, Italy: [http://www.couchsurfing.org/meetings.html?mid=57923 This is FO(u)R MI!]


- Creative workshops in the park
September 3rd - September 5th: Lille, France: [http://www.couchsurfing.org/meetings.html?mid=72089 The Braderie de Lille]


- A diner made by the Utrecht Cooking team (bring your own plates this time!)
September 10th - September 12th: Prague, Czech Republic: [http://www.couchsurfing.org/meetings.html?mid=58166 Cz3echsurfing]


- A new ceremony celebrating the sun going down
==overzicht van regular meetings==


- A lazy Sunday afternoon-brunch
In more and more Dutch cities CouchSurf-meetings are being held on a regular basis. If you want to know when to go where, you can check this [http://couchwiki.org/en/Netherlands#Regular_meetings list].


These pictures of [http://www.couchsurfing.org/meetings.html?mid=23092 last year] will give an impression of what you might expect:
==[http://www.couchsurfing.org/meetings.html?mid=60151 Castlefest] - Festival of Light==
6, 7, 8, August, Lisse, The Netherlands


[http://images.couchsurfing.us.s3.amazonaws.com/35ELGAF/5140055_l_bdb8e0959ab23b199855479df60f9f27.jpg Midsummer Lampions]
People from all over the world come to visit this, I would call it...
Medieval, hippy, folk, family, fantasy festival.


[http://images.couchsurfing.us.s3.amazonaws.com/35ELGAF/5140049_l_3380f1524d53917fdb4909a46967dc20.jpg Midsummer fireshow]
International world, pagan, celtic & folk music, encampment of medieval Re-enactors, a medieval & fantasy market. Art, theatre, visitors dressed up in most beautiful clothing.
All sort of things to do: Balfolk, Sword fighting, painting, poi. Food is all Biological!!


[http://images.couchsurfing.us.s3.amazonaws.com/35ELGAF/5140039_l_aa8cdea866dc37475bd8326801b38c24.jpg Crazy people in Utrecht]
It's a festival of enjoyment, relax & amazement. And I love it...would be awesome to have a CouchSurf meeting here!


[http://images.couchsurfing.us.s3.amazonaws.com/1P2DO0K/5188437_l_e22dd4558823bcf9096caea771989838.jpg The whole group of 2009]
Place to be:
Every year there is a Wickerman burning on Saturday. A hugh wooden construction, filled with the wishes, dreams and gifts from all visitors. You can put your own dreams as an offer inside. The perfect spot to meet!


[http://www.couchsurfing.org/people/kilgoretrout/ Jasper]
I’m working as a volunteer (coordinator backstage) on this festival ever since the beginning and I love to show you people around. The most fun part is to explore the festival your self, so I suggest we meet Friday, Saturday and Sunday 14:00 hours for a drink in front of the Wickerbeast, and share our adventures of couchsurfing! After a drink, I can take the people who are interested for a short backstage tour.


==past==
Relax & hope to see you there!
[http://www.couchsurfing.org/people/chantel_bleu/ Chantel]


===Flash Mobs in the Netherlands SPELLING CHECKED===
More info: http://www.castlefest.com


Flash mobs have been taking over cities all over the world since around 2003, though until recently they
!!!voor Floris: ik heb op 1 juli je een paar foto's gestuurd voor bij dit bericht!!!
were not common in the Netherlands. A flash mob
is a (large) group of people who assemble suddenly in a
public place, perform an unusual act for a brief period
of time, and then just leave again. At the first ever
recorded flash mob 150 people arrived at a flooring
shop, claimed to live together in a warehouse and
showed interest in buying the same rug. Exactly 10
minutes later the crowd suddenly disappeared.


Reading about this first flash mob inspired me to
==The best way to spend a Kruidvat train ticket: 18 hours of train travelling in NL==
research the phenomenon. As I sat captivated by videos
of flash mobs on Youtube, the idea of organizing one in
my home city became increasingly exciting. Admittedly
it took a bit of work, but within a few weeks eager
participants were signing up on CouchSurfing, Hyves and
Facebook.


The afternoon went off without a hitch. At the
“Would it be possible?”
appointed time on Saturday 20th February 2010 the
“Hmm. If we start early and do some smart planning, yes, why not?”
signal was given. CouchSurfers ran out of shops, jumped
“Let’s do this!”
up from benches, suddenly stopped window shopping, and
I imagine the initiators of the idea came to the idea like this. The idea of the 24-hour train race project. The ambitious idea to visit all 12 provincial capitals of The Netherlands in just one day. Probably one of the few countries where such a thing is possible.
got down on their knees and fanatically [http://crystalshard.net/test/flashmob.jpg worshiped] a
Many CS members, armed with a special Kruidvat train ticket to be able to travel for the whole day, would accomplish this mission on the 22nd of May. First train: 6:10am from Amsterdam, on to Haarlem and The Hague.
small statue in the busy shopping area of Rotterdam.
The fun started right from the beginning: the Dutch Railways (NS) decided that not our train, but the one 150 meters down the platform, would be the train that leaves.
Passers by looked on with confusion and surprise, as
And that’s how you create a delay: we started the journey with already 10 minutes off-schedule. “Off to a good start”!
the mob disappeared just as quickly as it had appeared.
Fortunately we caught up pretty quick, and, frankly, practically didn’t experience any delays for the rest of the day! Thank you, NS! There, I said it, something positive about the NS. They deserved it for once.
You can find “Worship the Sock Bears” on Youtube.
People were encouraged to join us during the journey whenever they wanted. And boy they did! “Are you guys from the 24-hour train race?” et voila: we had once again a bigger group of train travellers on a mission.
Our after party proved highly successful as
A few hardcore people made it all the way to the last stop: Lelystad. 0:18am the train arrived at the station! To make the last miles less painful we sang songs and people were already dreaming about their bed out loud... The other passengers thought we were gone nuts, I’m sure.
Rotterdam’s Tiki Bar kindly agreed to open early for
Once on the platform, we started praising the station signs and kissed the ground in true Pope style.
us.
Relieved, proud and tired as hell, we could finally say we visited all 12 provincial capitals. Not only that, but we did it in one day!


If you’ve ever been part of a flash mob you’ll know
Fotolinks:
the immense amount of fun involved. If you haven’t
yet, don’t fear, there are many more entertaining
events looming on the horizon. On Saturday 3rd April at
15:00 there will be massive pillow fights worldwide!
The pillows of Rotterdam and Amsterdam, along with over
120 other cities will be celebrating together as never
before. Interested? Check out our [http://www.couchsurfing.org/group.html?gid=26365 group]


[http://www.couchsurfing.org/people/spanglyhaze/ Hazel]
http://images.couchsurfing.us.s3.amazonaws.com/1X9GA8A/7869872_l_d4aa32afa3c87006c610c513658f1e5f.jpg


===CouchSurfers’ Music Exchange: Different cultures different music styles SPELLING CHECKED ===
http://images.couchsurfing.us.s3.amazonaws.com/1X9GA8A/7770295_l_671ade1bfeaaa2ea00c51695fefbaf1b.jpg


During my Australasian half-year-in-between-jobs I’ve
http://images.couchsurfing.us.s3.amazonaws.com/1X9GA8A/7770316_l_22883d7bfb73dd66771e51bf5046575e.jpg
encountered it several times: backpackers I randomly
met that have the best suggestions of music I might
like after listening to some of my stuff on my iPod. Of
course you’re somewhere dodgy and that’s exactly
the point where you are being pushed into another
rundown bus and you forget to write down the artists
and titles of the songs your musical muse told you. You
tell yourself you’ll remember it till you find pen
and paper. An hour later you completely forget about
it.


That’s how the idea of the [http://www.couchsurfing.org/meetings.html?mid=58591 Couchsurfers’ Music Exchange] started: it’s a meeting where CS'ers
http://images.couchsurfing.us.s3.amazonaws.com/1X9GA8A/7770213_l_8603c1f3667916c4116bd86b6bf63f50.jpg
listen to other CS’ers' music and give “if you like this you
might also like”-type of suggestions. (besides
writing down some tracks themselves, of course). To
keep it civilized nothing is actually copied on the
spot (except for some open source tracks).
The first meeting took place the 1st of March at the
“La Place” on the top floor of the OBA (library)
near Amsterdam Central. A happy and culturally diverse
group of around 15 people brought their laptops, iPods,
headphones and hard drives to share their taste in
music. A combination of hip-hop, electro, lounge,
classical music, Dutch music and bollywood was the
outcome. The atmosphere was open and relaxed; a
beautiful start of a monthly little festival of music
lovers.


The next one will be on the 18th of April at the
===The Netherlands today, Europe tomorrow!===
same spot. Keep an eye on the CouchSurfing [http://www.couchsurfing.org/meetings.html?mid=58591 events
For me personally, the 24-hour train race was a learning experience as well, because I’m involved in a project that is a bit bigger than just The Netherlands. The project is called The Unity Express, and is about a journey across as many as 24 European countries in a single, privately chartered train, with stops in major cities along the way, for a period of four weeks in the summer of 2011.
calendar] for more info.  
The train has room for more than 400 people on board simultaneously. When traveling, people literally live in the train: eating, sleeping, partying, laughing, learning, discussing... It all happens there.
The main goal of this project is to create unity among as much European citizens as possible. By bringing all those people together, on the train and in cities we attend, we create a better understanding for each other, so we can live more peacefully with each other.
This project will launch in mid July on CouchSurfing and with its own [http://www.unityexpress.eu website]. Want to help? This project cannot exist without your help! We need every profession you can think of: paramedics, chefs, security, writers, programmers, entertainers, DJ’s, organizers, thinkers, planners and many more! Go to the website or do a quick search on CouchSurfing to find the working group where you can get involved!
Want more information about the project before the launch? Send an E-mail to coen@unityexpress.eu with your questions and I’ll be happy to answer them!


[http://www.couchsurfing.org/people/victorious_e/ Victor]
Cheers,
[http://www.couchsurfing.org/people/riddergraniet Coen]


===Bowling meetings SPELLING CHECKED===
=News from CS Netherlands=


One year ago exactly, Jeroen and Ellen organized the first Eindhoven Bowling Meet. This successful meet has brought Eindhoven CS back to life after it kind of died.
==New Ambassador program==


One year and many meets later in Eindhoven, we decided to have another Bowling Meet! We arranged to meet at 8pm, in front the entrance of Mega Bowling. Lots of ‘familiar’ faces, but a lot of unknown ones as well, came to this event and there were even some international guests. It was a nice mix of people, devided in four lanes.
Maybe you already saw profiles of CouchSurfers that have a strange yellow flag on their profile, those people appear to be [http://www.couchsurfing.org/ambassador_list ambassadors]. All CouchSurfers are equal, so ambassadors are certainly no more important than any other CouchSurfer. Ambassadors are only more visible. Quite often they are the people involved in the internal organisation of CouchSurfing, welcoming new members, organising events or just answering questions about CouchSurfing. Find all about what it means to be an ambassador on the [http://www.couchsurfing.org/amb_levels.html CouchSurfing website].  


One after the next, the bowling balls were launched and it became clear who had the most talent –and who was there just for fun-. The music was best to be described as ‘old skool 90s’. And of course we saw some bloopers like throwing the ball backwards or sliding along with it.. but in the end the aim of the night was to have a good time.. And so we did! Everyone went home happily afterward. See you all at the next Eindhoven Meeting!
The last few months the CouchSurfing headquarter in San Francisco has been busy on improving the ambassador program. This ment there have been no new ambassadors added for over half a year. We cannot give any details yet, but soon it will be possible again for people to apply for the new ambassador system. The Dutch CouchSurfing organisation is looking forward to welcome new people, so if you like CouchSurfing and want to do more with it don't hesitate! You don't need any superpowers to become an ambassador.


Are you interested?
Contact [http://www.couchsurfing.org/people/kilgoretrout/ Jasper] for more info!


 
=Nomadic adventures=
[http://www.couchsurfing.org/people/abeyholland/ Astrid]
 
===Happy times in Zwollywood - Sardines SPELLING CHECKED===
 
What do you do when you're with over 10 CouchSurfers in a abandoned school (which will be demolished in 2 weeks) and because it is [http://www.earthhour.org/ Earth Hour] you just turned off all the lights?
 
Answer: Sardines!
 
Sardines is reversed hide and seek; one person hides and the rest tries to find him/her. When you've found the person that is hiding you get next to this person untill you've reached the point that one person is looking for everybody.
 
Both the location and the group of CouchSurfers appeared to be perfect for this game. We've been hiding under the sink, under chairs and even in the shower of the teachers' dressing room in the gym of the school. In the end we got so good that we even managed to let somebody sneak out and come back with chips.
 
The next step: Sardines on Saturday afternoon on [http://www.couchsurfing.org/group_read.html?gid=1348&post=5356152 Utrecht Train Station]
 
[http://photos-h.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc3/hs515.snc3/27054_108733015822075_100000561303728_153097_5544008_n.jpg picture1],
[http://photos-g.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-ash1/hs495.ash1/27054_108732965822080_100000561303728_153087_2414733_n.jpg picture2], [http://photos-a.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc3/hs515.snc3/27054_108732989155411_100000561303728_153092_296049_n.jpg picture3], [http://photos-c.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-ash1/hs495.ash1/27054_108732982488745_100000561303728_153091_1916225_n.jpg picture4]
 
 
[http://www.couchsurfing.org/people/kilgoretrout/ Jasper]
 
=News from Cs Netherlands (rechterbalk)=
 
==Changes on the CouchSurfing Website==
 
Soon there will be some new features implemented on the CouchSurfing Website:
 
* Report Abuse   
 
Website abuse occurs when people use our site in a way that's against our [http://www.couchsurfing.org/terms.html Terms of Use]. For some time, we've given members the option to flag messages as spam. Our new tool expands on this concept dramatically. We are now releasing a site-wide automated system that will allow all CouchSurfing members to participate easily in keeping abuse off of the site. We expect this to have a dramatic effect on reducing problems such as dating spam and advertisements. In the future you will see a mark about abuse all around the website on which you can report abuse. It will appear on messages, groups, group posts, event listings, and profiles. While protecting our community against abuse, we also remain dedicated to protecting members' freedom of expression and diversity of opinion. The Member Disputes and Safety Team will be carefully monitoring the system to make sure that it is working properly and isn't being misused.
 
More information about this feature can be found in the [http://www.couchsurfing.org/channel_read.html?gid=13449&post=5402131#gpid5402131 safety newsletter] (ook beschikbaar in het [http://www.couchsurfing.org/news.html?id=338 Nederlands])
 
* Request Manager
 
This is a tool that will help you save time, stay organized, and prevent miscommunication when sending and responding to CouchRequests. With this tool you'll be able to easily sort through both CouchRequests you've received and those you've sent. The Request Manager has a lot of great benefits. Clearer communication. When replying to a CouchRequest, a host clearly marks yes, no, or maybe and the system will sort the request accordingly. Time saved for busy hosts. You can save template messages as simple as "Sure, I can host you! Here's my phone number!" or as complex as "No, I can't host that weekend, but here's a list of my favorite spots in the city." To get through your responses more quickly, just choose the template you want and personalize it.
More accurate reply rates. Once the day of the CouchSurfer's arrival has passed, a host can no longer reply to the request to boost their reply rating. If you receive a request within a week of the arrival date and aren't able to respond in time, it won't affect your reply rate. Better organization. All of your replies will be threaded together for easy reference.
 
* CS Bookmarks
 
To help you navigate the site more quickly, you can save a page as a bookmark and reach it directly from the navigation bar.
 
* News Channels
 
We're also launching a redesign for the News Channels. The Channels will now be more prominently featured on the website, with a more appealing layout to improve your reading experience.
 
* New Ways to Donate and Get Verified
 
Up until now, members could only donate or get verified with a major credit card or debit card. In the next month we're introducing three new methods:
 
- ACH: a way to send a donation directly from a bank account, in the US and Canada.
 
- EU Debit: a way to send a donation directly from a bank account, in the European Union.
 
- Direct Pay (IBAN, Bank Transfers): a way to send a donation through a bank, internationally.
 
==Ideas for meetings SPELLING CHECKED==
 
At the last [http://www.couchsurfing.org/meetings.html?mid=64872 meeting] of the Netherlands CS organisation we brainstormed about ideas for possible meetings. Some of those ideas are already being organised and can be found in this newsletter. Some of those ideas can be found below. Do you want to help with organising any of these ideas, contact [http://www.couchsurfing.org/people/lizzie82ish/ Liza] or any other member of the [http://www.couchsurfing.org/group.html?gid=5031 Netherlands CS Organisation].
 
- Rubix cube party (come in different colored clothes, leaves in the same color)
 
- Making up stories, tell them to each other and guess which one is true and which one made-up
 
- Make pubquizes
 
- Bike meetings, double city bike tour and meetup half way in between the cities (like Utrecht-Amsterdam, Arnhem-Zwolle, Den Haag-Rotterdam)
 
- Meetup at the last metro or tram stop
 
- Singing songs from "Kinderen voor Kinderen"
 
- Theatersport/improvisation theater
 
- Sharades (hints)
 
- International invasions, to (Newcastle, Duisburg, Gent)
 
- Meetup where you don't know where you will end up: 2x left 1x right for a ... period of time and see where you end up
 
==CouchSurfing in the media SPELLING CHECKED==
 
More and more media are noticing CouchSurfing, after 3opreis, Arnon Grunberg in NRC and many more also Elsevier found out about us.
 
[http://picasaweb.google.com/MyStuffToBeSold/CouchSurfing#5447683810739603538 Elsevier] recently wrote an article about a CS event in Eindhoven and 'Het Reformatorisch Dagblad' published an [http://www.refdag.nl/artikel/1468653/Wereldreizen%20van%20bank%20naar%20bank.html interview] with [http://www.couchsurfing.org/people/lizzie82ish/ Liza]
 
Tilburg CS was in the news twice for so far. A tv show called Campus in Beeld, whose host surfed a couch in [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i4aqRyTeNy8 this city] and an article in the student [http://www.uvt.nl/univers/nieuws/0910/09/onderdak.html paper].
 
==New 'rules' for traveling (and Couchsurfing) in India SPELLING CHECKED==
For everybody who is planning to surf couches in India this summer, here's something to keep in mind:
 
In the aftermath of the recent terror attacks & keeping in view the not-so-good geo-political relationships, the government has decided to become more stringent on rules regarding stay of foreigners in India. It comes down to a form of mandatory registration. More info below.
 
The Foreigners Registration Act (FRA) states the rules & regulations to be followed by all hotels, hostels, resorts, private homes (which is the category CS hosts are in), Dormitories etc. The "C" Form, which is available in all police stations has to be filled out by the visitor. The "C" Form collects the details of the passport of the foreigner, where he/she is coming from and the duration of his/her stay. The details should be signed off by the host who is accommodating them.
 
If anybody is accommodating a foreign guest on a personal visit in his or her house, they should also inform the police department as per the Foreign Registration Rules. Failure to provide information to the authorities by the hosts would invite a punishment of imprisonment up to five years and a fine.
 
It comes down to this:
Filling out the C Form is a formality (whenever you check into a hotel they will photocopy your passport & make you sign the C form). If you don't stay in a hotel, you'll have to do it yourself. Doing this is your own choice, but the request will be to follow the law and make yourself and your host safer in the city.
 
Hope this brings the clarity to all those who are going to be hosts & surfers in India...
 
Source: [http://www.couchsurfing.org/people/priyaq/ Priya]
 
==Major events roadmap==
 
Do you like Sinterklaas in Rotterdam or Midsummernight in Utrecht a lot and are you looking for big CouchSurfing events in other countries? A couchsurfer from Italy made a google-map with a list of major events planned for 2010. See the list [http://tinyurl.com/CSRoadMap here]
 
=Nomadic adventures (linkerbalk)=


Do you have a nice travelstory? Tell us!
Do you have a nice travelstory? Tell us!


==Interview with Marc SPELLING CHECKED==
==Dodging bullets in Syria==
 
From now on in every newsletter we want to introduced you to people who travelled and/or couchsurfed a lot recently. We hope this will inspire you for your future travelplans. This edition we'll start with [http://www.couchsurfing.org/people/oysie/ Marc], originally from the Netherlands, but currently living in Berlin
 
1. How did you find out about CouchSurfing?
 
An Amsterdam friend of mine had been hosting people already for some time, and he kept bugging me with saying it is really something I should do. So I finally signed up and I was gone: totally fell in love with the concept, the openness and the trust between people who are everywhere just that: people.
 
2. How did you participate in CS until now?
 
I have mostly been a nomad until now. 4 years ago I left Holland with the idea to travel for maximum a year. It became 2 and then 3 and then 4......
I met hundreds of CS'ers, people who hosted me, who I traveled with, who I did activities with, who I met on meetings, parties, took a bike tour with, hitchhiked with, walked through the desert with and even hosted in a temporary home I had :)
It is just amazing that there is a community of people all over the world (that is still growing!) who want to share their life, their experiences, their everything
 
3. How do you combine traveling with your professional life?


This question is a typical northwest-European question, that is only asked by people from there :-)
Somewhere on the edge of Europe lies an invisible line. Many people on the European side are afraid to go across this line. But those adventurers who do dare to risk their lives by passing this invisible line will be rewarded with their own weight in gold. Beyond this line, most media based presumptions which try to tie you up in your own state, turn out to be foolish. One of the random people I told about my upcoming visit to Syria and Jordan answered with a serious tone, that he preferred to visit places where less bullets were flying around. That was before I told him I would go there hitch-hiking.  
If you are traveling in other places in the world, you will never get that question. You will hear questions like: what did you learn as a human, what kind of people did you meet, what amazing experiences do you have if you travel so long etc.
I'll answer the question like this:
Actually, if you travel outside of the 'material' western world, you discover how hospitable people are. Especially in the African, Arabian and East-european societies people invite you all the time for tea, dinner or to stay over, also outside of CS. And in these cultures it is often an offense to do something back, so you have a hard time spending money!
Also: Traveling over land by hitchhiking, local buses, local trains is extremely cheap and beautiful: the whole fact of traveling 'slow' makes you really get to know the countries, the people and the culture.
OK OK, if you really want to know:
I worked and saved some money before I departed, and because I have a free job (I am a teacher/director of theatre, circus and voice) it is quite easy for me to work on the road (but I didn't really need to).


4. What is the most special experience you ever had through CouchSurfing?
Xenophobia; I stumble upon it a lot, during my travels as well as at home. Mostly the xenophobia is directed at the neighboring country. Sometimes even on fellow inhabitants of ones' own country. In Turkey, on my way from the Netherlands to Syria, I was soaked with warnings about how often I would get killed once I would reach Eastern Turkey. They almost scared me, but assuming it would still be human beings living there, I went nonetheless. Now, two months later, I can tell you that the Eastern-Turkish people are just as hospitable as the people who warn you for them. I've got too many examples to offer, like this man who spontaneously took me home in the middle of the night, sparing me a long night in my tent at the outskirts of Antakya. Next day, wandering through the dark streets of an unknown village in Northern Syria, the first man I say 'good evening' to, interrupts his walk to the mosque and let's his son take care of me. The whole evening they've been treating me with tea, food, stories and Internet, inviting me the next day to come back any time I like. I didn't even get a chance to return to them the next evening; on my way to their village a man on a motorcycle persuades me to stay at his place instead.


That's a difficult question, I had so many amazing experiences:
Syrians compete for their guests, doing everything to prevent you from visiting someone else. That's what I call hospitality. They're just amazing. Though even they, who should be aware of the Middle Eastern generosity, will warn you for their neighbors. Obviously they aren't afraid for their visitors; no xenophobia in that sense, yet they are for the strangers just over the horizon. I believe that CouchSurfing, or simply traveling, is the way to decrease this. Say 'no' to xenophobia!


- Being hosted in an Hotel in Jordan, because the CS member was the owner.
[http://www.couchsurfing.org/people/chiel/ Chiel]
(read more about Chiel's travels on his [http://www.manvandewereld.blogspot.com blog])


- Climbing the Tablemountain in Capetown in midst of the day in summer (stupid!) with a local guy from the townships.
[http://images.couchsurfing.us.s3.amazonaws.com/2F1VS00/3335724_l_d85db16f40ffdea54f3a7d0afc596f91.jpg picture]


- After a 42 hours drive in a 'bush-taxi' from Guinnee via Senegal to Gambia being invited to a wedding of the brother of a CS'er. The whole high-society of Gambia and Sierra-Leone turned out to be at this wedding, and 2 smelly CS'ers.
=Exotic couches=
 
- Hitchhiking all over Moldova, because my host didn't feel like staying in the capital and going to school.
 
- After walking for days through the Negev desert getting a shower at a CS'er who was also a 'national trail angel'.
 
5. What is the most special place you ever visited?
 
Pffff, same problem as above..
If I really have to choose:
Visiting the San people (Bushman) in the Kalahari desert in Namibia.
These people are so amazing: If you look into their eyes, you see a deep wisdom and the fire of a child at the same moment.
I was able to speak with them, because their second language after their own (the language with the 12 'clicks') is Afrikaans, which is related to Dutch!
Because it was apparent there were no young girls walking around with babies, like you expect of 'tribe' people, I asked why.
Their answer: We don't get children before the age of 30, because then you are wise enough not to project your problems on your children.
....
I rest my case
 
6. What is your favorite means of travel?
 
Hitchhiking.
Slow, really being inside of the country, meeting locals. The best way!
Once I had a ticket from Hamburg to Israel because it was the cheapest I found. The only thing was that I was in Porto, Portugal. :-)
I already booked a Ryanair ticket from Portugal to Hamburg via London.
And then I got an offer to drive with truck drivers from Portugal via Belgium to Hamburg, so of course I didn't use my ticket!!!
 
7. What should every traveler bring in his/her suitcase?
 
- Book: the little Prince
- Object: a red nose
- Paper and marker for Hitchhiking
- Not enough money, so you will improvise
The suitcase itself should be small and < 15 kg. I had many cases that I took my day pack to visit someone for a few days, and I ended up traveling with it for many weeks. It made me realize I actually didn't need the stuff in my 'big' bag :-)
 
8. what would your advise be to other (new) travelers?
 
- Always follow your intuition. It is always right! (No need for explanations)
- Travel slow!!!! Stay for a long time in a country! I tried to be for at least 6 weeks, or even a few months, because you slowly sink into the local culture and really start to understand on a deeper level about the people, the land, the culture.
- Never by return tickets (or worse: RTW tickets).
Because I followed my intuition, I ended up in places and with people I couldn't have planned at all on forehand.
 
 
If you follow the flow of life and surrender, it will show you the beauty of what traveling is really about: the Journey inside.
 
[http://www.couchsurfing.org/people/oysie/ Marc]
 
==Hitchhiking from Bremen to Stockholm==
 
Check the [http://surferofcouches.blogspot.com/ weblog] of [http://www.couchsurfing.org/people/linforcer/ Tommy] for more.
 
I hitchhiked up to Stockholm, because the only home I have is the road. It took me three days to get to Stockholm for one reason, and one alone: Some hitchhiking places in Sweden suck. It took me a while to realise that in Scandinavia on-ramps with your thumb out are actually better than their gas stations which are often at least a km from the highway, small, and frequented by locals, not long-distance drivers.
 
The first day of the hitch up was really lucky. Even though it ook me 3 or 4 hours to get out of Bremen, right before Kiel I met Jørg. Jørg is a German guy from Dortmund, moving to Sortland, up north in Norway (Yeah, it's pretty far up). He had all his stuff with him and he was taking the ferry from Kiel to Gøteborg. Since he was paying the same amount regardless of the amount of people in his car, he had no problem bringing me along.
 
[http://lh3.ggpht.com/_PX75rcYIyBI/S4Wp5JrBfCI/AAAAAAAAL6M/v95oDtaHXbI/s640/SDC11291.JPG photo]
My free bed on the right. Jørg on his on the left.
 
The next day, the ferry docked at 9 and by 9 30 we were on our way North, where I got stuck for a long time before moving on to Karlstad, where I pulled some strings to stay a night with Elina's boyfriend's friend's neighbor. (Elina being my host in Stockholm, whom I hadn't met yet, technically making Marion Carel's friend's boyfriend's friend's neighbor. Then of course true to my nature, I left the very instrument used for the pulling of aforementioned strings (read: my phone) in Karlstad.
 
So after a romantic 5 days in Stockholm, I had to pick up my phone again and finally go home. No way was I going to find an excuse to spend even more time in a [http://lh6.ggpht.com/_PX75rcYIyBI/S3ZhrfJe-YI/AAAAAAAAKrk/39kgz9E9Wm0/s640/SDC11208.JPG meter of snow].
 
=Exotic couches (linkerbalk)=


Do you have a nice hosting story? Tell us!
Do you have a nice hosting story? Tell us!


==Couchpicture==
==Interview with [http://www.couchsurfing.org/people/urbian/ Urbian Fritz-James]==


Who can beat [http://images.couchsurfing.us.s3.amazonaws.com/1MK8MI5/2260014_l_9198503e871c39a39d2b63455a8e0402.jpg 8 people?]
1  How did you find out about CouchSurfing?


==Interview with a 'exotic host' SPELLING CHECKED==
In 2005 I went to Krakow. I wanted to meet local people in Krakow so i start to google "meet local people". First I ran into to the site virtual tourist and than this guy said to me to go to couchsurfing.com and contact this lady in Krakow. So i decided to contact her. ( I really dont know her name and she is not on cs anymore) Well I contacted her but finally we didnt meet because she was busy. But I liked the idea of hosting people, so when I came back to Holland i immediately started hosting people and now I have been a member since 2005.


From now on every newsletter we want to introduce you to people in the Netherlands who host a lot. We hope this will inspire you for your future hosting experiences. This edition we'll start with [http://www.couchsurfing.org/people/gerald_rotterdam/ Gerard] from Bergschenhoek, near Rotterdam.
2  What makes your couch special?


[http://images.couchsurfing.us.s3.amazonaws.com/1HUXNSU/974873_l_1d63f3bfa645852d7cc36574d490e2bb.jpg Kinderdijk]
Well lets start with me and my girlfriend. People make the difference and being our guest, we really want to make people feel like they are at home. You can drink and eat whatever we have in our home (except for the champagne). Further we have a separate bedroom with AAA quality mattresses, so a goodnight rest is guaranteed. And on top of everything we have a jacuzzi on our rooftop. Furthermore we live on a island just in the middle of Rotterdam which make it just perfect for your stay in Rotterdam.  


1  How did you find out about CouchSurfing?
In September 2006 I red an article about CS in a local
newspaper. I got interested and got some information from an
experienced Couch-Surfer: Urbian Fitz-James. He spoke
so enthusiastic that I made a CS profile for myself the
same evening.
2  What makes your couch special?


My guest(s) get their own room: I have a guestroom
We don't accept everyone. We have a preference for ladies and couples. I also have assignments written down in my profile so I know for sure that people have written my profile carefully instead of hitting the ctrl+c and ctrl+v button.
with a nice bed, next to the bathroom. I prefer one or
two guests at a time, so I can give them a lot of
attention.
I wanna be social with my guests: We have meals
together and I show them around. I live between
Rotterdam and The Hague; also Delft and Gouda are quite
close by.
I love to tell them about the Dutch history, culture
and way of thinking: liberal and independent. I show
them the typically Dutch landscape 'polder below
sea-level' and let them taste Dutch specialties like
'stroopwafel', 'kroket', 'drop' and 'poffertjes'.


3  Tell about a special person you hosted?
3  Tell about a special person you hosted?


In 2008 I was Couch-Surfing myself in Brazil. I also
Well we hosted a lot of special persons since 2005. But Leila Messaoudi was one of the most special persons we hosted. The first time she came to my place she planned to stay for 3 days but it ended up for 2 weeks. Spending christmas together. We also went to a cs meeting in Paris were we had a lovely time. Leila became my little sister and i adopted her. She visited our place again for 4 times.
visited the Amazon's-region, with Manaus as capital.
There, in the jungle, I found a Couch-Surfer: André, a 21-year-old, who picked me up from the airport, helped me
as much as he could and showed me around. This young
man spoke.. Dutch! He visited our beautiful country
three times already, each time for several weeks, and fell
in love with the Netherlands. In January 2009 he stayed
at my place for three weeks and we had a wonderful time
together. We still are in contact.


4  What place near your couch would you recommend everybody to visit?
4  What place near your couch would you recommend everybody to visit?


A very nice small town is Delft: very Dutch, full of
Go to Kinderdijk (windmills) to get some of that nostalgic feeling of Holland
history, lots of things to see and to do. I love to
show my guests around at the 'Grote Markt'. Tell
them about the royal graves in the 'Nieuwe Kerk', Hugo
de Groot, Vermeer and the old houses and town-hall.
There are nice bars, restaurants, souvenir-shops and
terraces in Delft.


5  What do you like to see in a good CouchSurf request?
5  What do you like to see in a good CouchSurf request?


In a good Couch-Surf request the guest writes about
I would like to see some humor in it and please amaze me with something original and wicked. And when you write me a request you should at least have the words "qwerty", "smoke" and "jacuzzi" in your request. That is because of the assignments I have in my profile.  
himself (or herself) and tells me why he wants to come
to the Netherlands. I always give newbies the benefit of
the doubt and welcome young starters in our CS
community.


6  Which sort of guests do you prefer?
6  Which sort of guests do you prefer?


I prefer guests who don't come for the red-light
We prefer couples and ladies. For the rest you will have to be able to speak english and dont be shy.
district and the cannabis! I love guests who are
interested in the Dutch way of living, way of thinking,
culture and who want to get shown around. Guests who
let me decide where to go see the most and have the
nicest time.


7  Which host should we interview in the next newsletter?
7  Which host should we interview in the next newsletter?


I suggest to interview Urbian Fitz-James, mentioned
[http://www.couchsurfing.org/profile.html?id=CI8LAF  Pieter Ter berg]
before. He got me interested in CS and helped me the first
year with advice and recommended me as starting host to
guests.
 
==CS house==
 
'''CouchSurfing house #1 – Casa Merode in Tilburg'''           
 
What do you get when you combine five CouchSurfers, liters of coffee, a vegetable garden, a crossword puzzle in the toilet and lots of people coming in and going out every day? Casa Merode (CM) is the one and only CS-house in Tilburg. All inhabitants are members of CouchSurfing and enjoy having guests.
 
“We can refer to ourselves as a CS house, but we are more like a collective of nice people who just live together and happened to members of CouchSurfing.” Sofia, from Sweden, is the only ‘real foreigner’ living in Casa Merode. The other housemates (Lukas, Erik, Susy and Bram) love to travel and don’t mind speaking English when she’s around (and sometimes even when she’s not), but are all born in The Netherlands.
 
“This house feels like an international home” is something we have all said on several occasions. It’s almost like a family, with lots of respect and love. We cook, eat and hang out together, we look out for each other. There’s no stupid cleaning schedules and fights about who drank someone else’s milk. We use common sense and the simple rule ‘if you finish something, replace it’.
 
And then there’s CouchSurfing. Tilburg does not get a whole lot of travelers coming through, but it’s very nice to have some guests once in a while. Casa Merode has an average of 2 guests a month. But we would like some more! So, this is an official statement for everyone who reads this: If you’d like to stay, or just drop by in our house in Tilburg, send one of us a message through CS!
 
[http://www.couchsurfing.org/people/susyq/ Susanne/SusyQ]
 
More about Casa Merode:
Two guys from Campus in Beeld (tv programme in Nijmegen) surfed our couch a few weeks ago and it’s to be found on Youtube now. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i4aqRyTeNy8
Also we’ve been interviewed for a local student-paper (in Dutch). http://www.uvt.nl/univers/nieuws/0910/09/onderdak.html
And then there’s our CS-group http://www.couchsurfing.org/group.html?gid=22894 and Wiki http://wiki.couchsurfing.org/en/Casa_Merode .
Noot voor Jasper: foto’s kun je vinden op Lukas’ of Sofia’s profiel
Lukas: http://www.couchsurfing.org/profile.html?id=2O0CHTP
Susy: http://www.couchsurfing.org/people/susyq/
Sofia: http://www.couchsurfing.org/profile.html?id=31A8KCF
Erik: http://www.couchsurfing.org/profile.html?id=2Y73UWF
Bram: http://www.couchsurfing.org/profile.html?id=4SR4UY5


=traveltip (linkerbalk)=
[http://images.couchsurfing.us.s3.amazonaws.com/2J65MU/22306_l_7430622ba1bc22932dc363dec4e0cb4f.jpg picture]


Get a phone without SIM-lock and get a new SIM-card whenever you enter a country in which you plan to stay for more than 5 days. It saves you (and your CS-hosts) loads of money.
=traveltip=


{{IsIn|CS Organisation Netherlands}}
{{IsIn|CS Organisation Netherlands}}
[[category:CS Newsletters]]
[[Category:Newsletters]]

Latest revision as of 18:55, 14 January 2013

Old newsletters:

CS Newsletter for the Netherlands 2010.1

CS Newsletter for the Netherlands 2010.2

Draft 3nd newsletter

Heading

CouchSurfers meeting up

Grote zomermeetings in Europa

More and more CouchSurfing communities are organising couchsurfing events this summer. Wherever you go, you can meetup with local couchsurfers.

Below is a selection of interesting events:

July 16th - July 18th: Oostende, Belgium: CS Beach Weekend

July 16th - July 18th: Champ-du-Boult, France: Normandy Summer camp

July 16th - July 21th: Brussels, Belgium: Brussels CS summer event

July 23th - July 25th: Dundee, Scotland: Dundee Calling

July 23th - July 26th: Paris, France: Paris Rendez Vous

July 28th - August 1st: Pescosolido, Italy: Italy summer camp

July 30th - August 2nd: Aberdeen, Scotland: a summer camp on the stunning balmedie beach

August 2nd - August 8th: Tokaj, Hungaria: Canoe tour

August 6th - August 8th: Spychowo, Poland: II CS International Family Weekend (IFW)

August 1st: Barcelona, Spain: Pre Gathering for the 3rd European Hitchhiking Gathering

August 6th: Sines, Portugal: 3rd European Hitchhiking Gathering

August 27th - August 29th: Karisilla, Estonia: Summer camp in Setumaa

September 2nd - September 5th: Milano, Italy: This is FO(u)R MI!

September 3rd - September 5th: Lille, France: The Braderie de Lille

September 10th - September 12th: Prague, Czech Republic: Cz3echsurfing

overzicht van regular meetings

In more and more Dutch cities CouchSurf-meetings are being held on a regular basis. If you want to know when to go where, you can check this list.

Castlefest - Festival of Light

6, 7, 8, August, Lisse, The Netherlands

People from all over the world come to visit this, I would call it... Medieval, hippy, folk, family, fantasy festival.

International world, pagan, celtic & folk music, encampment of medieval Re-enactors, a medieval & fantasy market. Art, theatre, visitors dressed up in most beautiful clothing. All sort of things to do: Balfolk, Sword fighting, painting, poi. Food is all Biological!!

It's a festival of enjoyment, relax & amazement. And I love it...would be awesome to have a CouchSurf meeting here!

Place to be: Every year there is a Wickerman burning on Saturday. A hugh wooden construction, filled with the wishes, dreams and gifts from all visitors. You can put your own dreams as an offer inside. The perfect spot to meet!

I’m working as a volunteer (coordinator backstage) on this festival ever since the beginning and I love to show you people around. The most fun part is to explore the festival your self, so I suggest we meet Friday, Saturday and Sunday 14:00 hours for a drink in front of the Wickerbeast, and share our adventures of couchsurfing! After a drink, I can take the people who are interested for a short backstage tour.

Relax & hope to see you there! Chantel

More info: http://www.castlefest.com

!!!voor Floris: ik heb op 1 juli je een paar foto's gestuurd voor bij dit bericht!!!

The best way to spend a Kruidvat train ticket: 18 hours of train travelling in NL

“Would it be possible?” “Hmm. If we start early and do some smart planning, yes, why not?” “Let’s do this!” I imagine the initiators of the idea came to the idea like this. The idea of the 24-hour train race project. The ambitious idea to visit all 12 provincial capitals of The Netherlands in just one day. Probably one of the few countries where such a thing is possible. Many CS members, armed with a special Kruidvat train ticket to be able to travel for the whole day, would accomplish this mission on the 22nd of May. First train: 6:10am from Amsterdam, on to Haarlem and The Hague. The fun started right from the beginning: the Dutch Railways (NS) decided that not our train, but the one 150 meters down the platform, would be the train that leaves. And that’s how you create a delay: we started the journey with already 10 minutes off-schedule. “Off to a good start”! Fortunately we caught up pretty quick, and, frankly, practically didn’t experience any delays for the rest of the day! Thank you, NS! There, I said it, something positive about the NS. They deserved it for once. People were encouraged to join us during the journey whenever they wanted. And boy they did! “Are you guys from the 24-hour train race?” et voila: we had once again a bigger group of train travellers on a mission. A few hardcore people made it all the way to the last stop: Lelystad. 0:18am the train arrived at the station! To make the last miles less painful we sang songs and people were already dreaming about their bed out loud... The other passengers thought we were gone nuts, I’m sure. Once on the platform, we started praising the station signs and kissed the ground in true Pope style. Relieved, proud and tired as hell, we could finally say we visited all 12 provincial capitals. Not only that, but we did it in one day!

Fotolinks:

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The Netherlands today, Europe tomorrow!

For me personally, the 24-hour train race was a learning experience as well, because I’m involved in a project that is a bit bigger than just The Netherlands. The project is called The Unity Express, and is about a journey across as many as 24 European countries in a single, privately chartered train, with stops in major cities along the way, for a period of four weeks in the summer of 2011. The train has room for more than 400 people on board simultaneously. When traveling, people literally live in the train: eating, sleeping, partying, laughing, learning, discussing... It all happens there. The main goal of this project is to create unity among as much European citizens as possible. By bringing all those people together, on the train and in cities we attend, we create a better understanding for each other, so we can live more peacefully with each other. This project will launch in mid July on CouchSurfing and with its own website. Want to help? This project cannot exist without your help! We need every profession you can think of: paramedics, chefs, security, writers, programmers, entertainers, DJ’s, organizers, thinkers, planners and many more! Go to the website or do a quick search on CouchSurfing to find the working group where you can get involved! Want more information about the project before the launch? Send an E-mail to [email protected] with your questions and I’ll be happy to answer them!

Cheers, Coen

News from CS Netherlands

New Ambassador program

Maybe you already saw profiles of CouchSurfers that have a strange yellow flag on their profile, those people appear to be ambassadors. All CouchSurfers are equal, so ambassadors are certainly no more important than any other CouchSurfer. Ambassadors are only more visible. Quite often they are the people involved in the internal organisation of CouchSurfing, welcoming new members, organising events or just answering questions about CouchSurfing. Find all about what it means to be an ambassador on the CouchSurfing website.

The last few months the CouchSurfing headquarter in San Francisco has been busy on improving the ambassador program. This ment there have been no new ambassadors added for over half a year. We cannot give any details yet, but soon it will be possible again for people to apply for the new ambassador system. The Dutch CouchSurfing organisation is looking forward to welcome new people, so if you like CouchSurfing and want to do more with it don't hesitate! You don't need any superpowers to become an ambassador.

Are you interested? Contact Jasper for more info!

Nomadic adventures

Do you have a nice travelstory? Tell us!

Dodging bullets in Syria

Somewhere on the edge of Europe lies an invisible line. Many people on the European side are afraid to go across this line. But those adventurers who do dare to risk their lives by passing this invisible line will be rewarded with their own weight in gold. Beyond this line, most media based presumptions which try to tie you up in your own state, turn out to be foolish. One of the random people I told about my upcoming visit to Syria and Jordan answered with a serious tone, that he preferred to visit places where less bullets were flying around. That was before I told him I would go there hitch-hiking.

Xenophobia; I stumble upon it a lot, during my travels as well as at home. Mostly the xenophobia is directed at the neighboring country. Sometimes even on fellow inhabitants of ones' own country. In Turkey, on my way from the Netherlands to Syria, I was soaked with warnings about how often I would get killed once I would reach Eastern Turkey. They almost scared me, but assuming it would still be human beings living there, I went nonetheless. Now, two months later, I can tell you that the Eastern-Turkish people are just as hospitable as the people who warn you for them. I've got too many examples to offer, like this man who spontaneously took me home in the middle of the night, sparing me a long night in my tent at the outskirts of Antakya. Next day, wandering through the dark streets of an unknown village in Northern Syria, the first man I say 'good evening' to, interrupts his walk to the mosque and let's his son take care of me. The whole evening they've been treating me with tea, food, stories and Internet, inviting me the next day to come back any time I like. I didn't even get a chance to return to them the next evening; on my way to their village a man on a motorcycle persuades me to stay at his place instead.

Syrians compete for their guests, doing everything to prevent you from visiting someone else. That's what I call hospitality. They're just amazing. Though even they, who should be aware of the Middle Eastern generosity, will warn you for their neighbors. Obviously they aren't afraid for their visitors; no xenophobia in that sense, yet they are for the strangers just over the horizon. I believe that CouchSurfing, or simply traveling, is the way to decrease this. Say 'no' to xenophobia!

Chiel (read more about Chiel's travels on his blog)

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Exotic couches

Do you have a nice hosting story? Tell us!

Interview with Urbian Fritz-James

1 How did you find out about CouchSurfing?

In 2005 I went to Krakow. I wanted to meet local people in Krakow so i start to google "meet local people". First I ran into to the site virtual tourist and than this guy said to me to go to couchsurfing.com and contact this lady in Krakow. So i decided to contact her. ( I really dont know her name and she is not on cs anymore) Well I contacted her but finally we didnt meet because she was busy. But I liked the idea of hosting people, so when I came back to Holland i immediately started hosting people and now I have been a member since 2005.

2 What makes your couch special?

Well lets start with me and my girlfriend. People make the difference and being our guest, we really want to make people feel like they are at home. You can drink and eat whatever we have in our home (except for the champagne). Further we have a separate bedroom with AAA quality mattresses, so a goodnight rest is guaranteed. And on top of everything we have a jacuzzi on our rooftop. Furthermore we live on a island just in the middle of Rotterdam which make it just perfect for your stay in Rotterdam.


We don't accept everyone. We have a preference for ladies and couples. I also have assignments written down in my profile so I know for sure that people have written my profile carefully instead of hitting the ctrl+c and ctrl+v button.

3 Tell about a special person you hosted?

Well we hosted a lot of special persons since 2005. But Leila Messaoudi was one of the most special persons we hosted. The first time she came to my place she planned to stay for 3 days but it ended up for 2 weeks. Spending christmas together. We also went to a cs meeting in Paris were we had a lovely time. Leila became my little sister and i adopted her. She visited our place again for 4 times.

4 What place near your couch would you recommend everybody to visit?

Go to Kinderdijk (windmills) to get some of that nostalgic feeling of Holland

5 What do you like to see in a good CouchSurf request?

I would like to see some humor in it and please amaze me with something original and wicked. And when you write me a request you should at least have the words "qwerty", "smoke" and "jacuzzi" in your request. That is because of the assignments I have in my profile.

6 Which sort of guests do you prefer?

We prefer couples and ladies. For the rest you will have to be able to speak english and dont be shy.

7 Which host should we interview in the next newsletter?

Pieter Ter berg

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traveltip