CS newsletter for the Netherlands: Difference between revisions

[[Wiki.trustroots.org]] is an independent wiki with information for people who are actively exchanging hospitality.
No edit summary
No edit summary
 
(208 intermediate revisions by 16 users not shown)
Line 1: Line 1:
Draft 1st newsletter
Old newsletters:


nog te doen:
[[CS Newsletter for the Netherlands 2010.1]]


* Algemeen
[[CS Newsletter for the Netherlands 2010.2]]
- een inleidende tekst over het wat en waarom van de newsletter > kan in de mailing over de newsletter


* CSinterklaas:
Draft 3nd newsletter
- stukjes over organisatie?


* Sauna meetings > Ramon ?
=Heading=


* corrigeren: tot en met Leeuwarden
=CouchSurfers meeting up=


==Grote zomermeetings in Europa==


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


==CSinterklaas Rotterdam 2009==
Below is a selection of interesting events:


For the 4th time couchsurfers in Rotterdam celebrated Sinterklaas, and like other times hunderds of couchsurfers from all around came over for this special event. This year even the organisation was a joint venture between couchsurfers not only from Rotterdam but from several Dutch cities and even a Belgian city. The climax was of course the visit of his holyness himself and the handing out of presents. Sinterklaas didn't start giving out presents immediately but had to talk to some couchsurfers who have been naughty in 2009 (hier kan mooi de foto met Liza en Sanne die op de testpagina stond). There were also lots of possibilities to discover Rotterdam or the many rituals around Sinterklaas.  
July 16th - July 18th: Oostende, Belgium: [http://www.couchsurfing.org/meetings.html?mid=62713 CS Beach Weekend]


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


We asked some people what they will do with the presents Sinterklaas gave them.
July 16th - July 21th: Brussels, Belgium: [http://www.couchsurfing.org/meetings.html?mid=72244 Brussels CS summer event]


[http://lh3.ggpht.com/_4si9ljdgMXs/SxQnyOYqmpI/AAAAAAAAFCo/enYltkmMq5A/s800/IMG_3613.JPG Sam]: Give it to a boy I know very well.
July 23th - July 25th: Dundee, Scotland: [http://www.couchsurfing.org/meetings.html?mid=74886 Dundee Calling]


[http://lh3.ggpht.com/_4si9ljdgMXs/SxQnykUkYVI/AAAAAAAAFCs/vu1_XP27GQ0/s800/IMG_3614.JPG Paul]: I am going to put coins in it.
July 23th - July 26th: Paris, France: [http://www.couchsurfing.org/meetings.html?mid=71291 Paris Rendez Vous]


[http://lh5.ggpht.com/_4si9ljdgMXs/SxQnzeJvR_I/AAAAAAAAFCw/Q1W7Di1DgDs/s576/IMG_3615.JPG Sagnik]: I will break this puzzle tonight, before I go to sleep.
July 28th - August 1st: Pescosolido, Italy: [http://www.couchsurfing.org/meetings.html?mid=48567 Italy summer camp]


[http://lh3.ggpht.com/_4si9ljdgMXs/SxQnrcI1vgI/AAAAAAAAFB0/pmAPyCppxPg/s800/IMG_3601.JPG Jessica]:
July 30th - August 2nd: Aberdeen, Scotland: [http://www.couchsurfing.org/meetings.html?mid=66899 a summer camp on the stunning balmedie beach]


===Speeddating===
August 2nd - August 8th: Tokaj, Hungaria: [http://www.couchsurfing.org/meetings.html?mid=56737 Canoe tour]


The Sinterklaas meeting is always a great event with people from nearby countries taking Rotterdam by storm, and of course filling local couchsurfers' couches. It all starts innocently enough on the Friday where the main party is the speed dating mee... wait, that doesn't sound very innocent.
August 6th - August 8th: Spychowo, Poland: [http://www.couchsurfing.org/meetings.html?mid=72666 II CS International Family Weekend (IFW)]


Alright, it IS innocent, it's a bit of a joke on the "CS is not a dating site" motto going around, but as my friend Ben said, that regardless of the joke: "So many people are going to hook up", which sounds like it definitely wouldn't be entirely untrue. Presented by Carel & the speed dating bitches (Damn, I'd buy music by a band with that name.) we were all given cards with suggestive questions on them, and when the other person answered them we'd get to write something related to that answer on their back for everyone to read, and mostly for yourself to read at the end of the night, especially if you're very self-absorbed.
August 1st: Barcelona, Spain: [http://hitchgathering.org/barcelona Pre Gathering for the 3rd European Hitchhiking Gathering]


After that, all the men spent half the night finding out who wrote "He is definitely gay" on their backs, because God forbid someone realizes the truth.
August 6th: Sines, Portugal: [http://www.couchsurfing.org/meetings.html?mid=69794 3rd European Hitchhiking Gathering]


If you want to read more about Tommy's experiences click [http://surferofcouches.blogspot.com/2009/12/worst-4-beers-of-your-life-or-how-i.html here]
August 27th - August 29th: Karisilla, Estonia: [http://www.couchsurfing.org/meetings.html?mid=74663 Summer camp in Setumaa]


===Sinterklaas Pastry Extravaganza!===
September 2nd - September 5th: Milano, Italy: [http://www.couchsurfing.org/meetings.html?mid=57923 This is FO(u)R MI!]
Part of the Sinterklaas Event in the last weekend of November was the [http://www.couchsurfing.org/meetings.html?mid=50714 Sinterklaas Pastry Extravaganza!]


For this meeting 21 people signed up but at the day itself about 10 people showed up. So did [http://www.couchsurfing.org/people/wizzardofoss/ the Wizzard of Oss] (the writer of this article).
September 3rd - September 5th: Lille, France: [http://www.couchsurfing.org/meetings.html?mid=72089 The Braderie de Lille]


As we arrived the host of this event, [http://www.couchsurfing.org/profile.html?id=1YA2FUP Maartje], already had some tea ready.
September 10th - September 12th: Prague, Czech Republic: [http://www.couchsurfing.org/meetings.html?mid=58166 Cz3echsurfing]
The forecast told that it would be raining a lot that day so everybody was happy to be at this workshop not having to do sightseeing in the rain. After finishing the tea we all went to work.


We made 'pepernoten'. They are good for getting [http://picasaweb.google.com/lourenssenm/2009CSSinterklaasMeetingRotterdam#5409590869192774994 dirty hands] and a good view on the recipe.
==overzicht van regular meetings==


In the end many things were made, like [http://nl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kruidnoten kruidnoten]. Also many decorations were made with [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marzipan marzipan].
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].


In the end after all our work we managed to prepare:
==[http://www.couchsurfing.org/meetings.html?mid=60151 Castlefest] - Festival of Light==
[http://picasaweb.google.com/lourenssenm/2009CSSinterklaasMeetingRotterdam#5409592114868791538 pepernoten and cookies];
6, 7, 8, August, Lisse, The Netherlands
[http://picasaweb.google.com/lourenssenm/2009CSSinterklaasMeetingRotterdam#5409592348657724402 the horse of Sinterklaas that was very tired];
[http://picasaweb.google.com/lourenssenm/2009CSSinterklaasMeetingRotterdam#5409593014472790642 a flag (guess from wich country)];
[http://picasaweb.google.com/lourenssenm/2009CSSinterklaasMeetingRotterdam#5409593149510617506 meat (and a present vegetarian meat;-))] and
[http://picasaweb.google.com/lourenssenm/2009CSSinterklaasMeetingRotterdam#5409593329163313042 fresh big pepernoten].
[http://www.couchsurfing.org/profile.html?id=43L1EXA Linda] liked to color her [http://picasaweb.google.com/lourenssenm/2009CSSinterklaasMeetingRotterdam#5409594099720538930 fingers].
[http://picasaweb.google.com/lourenssenm/2009CSSinterklaasMeetingRotterdam#5409594680871282306 A bored Couchsurfer with die sick dogs of the host] Maybe someone was killed there.
But when they saw [http://picasaweb.google.com/lourenssenm/2009CSSinterklaasMeetingRotterdam#5409594545561912610 this pepernoot] everybody was happy again.


Everybody liked the baking extravaganza and because the group was small it was a very cosy meeting.
People from all over the world come to visit this, I would call it...
Medieval, hippy, folk, family, fantasy festival.


===organisation===
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!!


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


==Sinterklaas in Utrecht==
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!


Sinterklaas was all over the Utrecht community for several days this year.  
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.


It all started with the monthly meeting of Friday December 4th when Sinterklaas left some [http://lh6.ggpht.com/_4si9ljdgMXs/SxqHvC4HCmI/AAAAAAAAFS0/W3-u2RNXIZw/s800/IMG_3737.JPG nice] [http://lh6.ggpht.com/_4si9ljdgMXs/SxqHfZ8meGI/AAAAAAAAFRg/b_-_tOPmL0U/s576/IMG_3693.JPG presents] for [http://lh6.ggpht.com/_4si9ljdgMXs/SxqHyWPevII/AAAAAAAAFTQ/D-5y7689yhc/s576/IMG_3744.JPG some nice couchsurfers]. When Sinterklaas himself showed up it appeared that Utrecht had the honor of hosting the very politically correct [http://lh4.ggpht.com/_4si9ljdgMXs/SxqIDTcw2jI/AAAAAAAAFUU/wI-q_j5TMAE/s800/IMG_3769.JPG Zwarte Klaas and Witte Piet] who were quite willing to give all those naughty couchsurfers some [http://picasaweb.google.nl/Lizzie82ish/CSMonthlyMeetingSinterklaasEdition04122009?authkey=Gv1sRgCJyz4OLa8MzyEQ&feat=directlink#5411787236789597778 decent spanking]. After that it was time to say goodbye to Graham in Utrecht style: with [http://lh4.ggpht.com/_4si9ljdgMXs/SxqINdsk24I/AAAAAAAAFU8/dmjDv5NlGdY/s576/IMG_3787.JPG something to write on], this time a table-cloth. 
Relax & hope to see you there!
On Pakjesavond (the evening of December 5th) Sinterklaas was to busy for us, so we had to make our [http://lh3.ggpht.com/_4si9ljdgMXs/SxuvSIZzIyI/AAAAAAAAFY4/0IW0O4vNPLI/s800/IMG_3802.JPG Sinterklaas candy] [http://lh4.ggpht.com/_4si9ljdgMXs/SxuvXwYpMOI/AAAAAAAAFZY/k7NrBEb-wNs/s800/IMG_3816.JPG ourselves].
[http://www.couchsurfing.org/people/chantel_bleu/ Chantel]
Luckily Sint managed to come back from Spain on the 8th to attend the [http://lh4.ggpht.com/_cYvPOJlCNuE/SyElFoT4GAI/AAAAAAAAC8w/rVIsTlAQrfI/s720/Sinterklaas%20068.jpg surprise evening] of the Dutch lessons in Utrecht.


For more pictures check here:
More info: http://www.castlefest.com
[http://picasaweb.google.nl/Lizzie82ish/CSMonthlyMeetingSinterklaasEdition04122009?authkey=Gv1sRgCJyz4OLa8MzyEQ&feat=directlink# monthly meeting], [http://picasaweb.google.nl/Lizzie82ish/SinterklaasBaking05122009?authkey=Gv1sRgCPDb95DGuYrnhQE&feat=directlink# baking evening] and [http://picasaweb.google.com/Nynke87/CSSinterklaasUUNL09# Dutch lesson].


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


It is in days like this that you understand what fairy tales are made of....
==The best way to spend a Kruidvat train ticket: 18 hours of train travelling in NL==


The obstacles we all had to endure to reach the park, the solidarity of couchsurfer heroes who, because of their patience and support, allowed other people to also live the experience of the Efteling and finally the magical surrounding & great company, provided the perfect ingredients for an unforgettable day in which our inner child had a blast!!
“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!


Links to pictures:
Fotolinks:
[http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?pid=4889440&id=663115970 1]
[http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?pid=4889447&id=663115970 2]
[http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?pid=4860159&id=663115970 3]
[http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?pid=4889457&id=663115970 4]
[http://www.facebook.com/reqs.php#/photo.php?pid=4889471&id=663115970 5]


==Sauna Meetings ==
http://images.couchsurfing.us.s3.amazonaws.com/1X9GA8A/7869872_l_d4aa32afa3c87006c610c513658f1e5f.jpg


Ramon ?
http://images.couchsurfing.us.s3.amazonaws.com/1X9GA8A/7770295_l_671ade1bfeaaa2ea00c51695fefbaf1b.jpg


=Future meetings=
http://images.couchsurfing.us.s3.amazonaws.com/1X9GA8A/7770316_l_22883d7bfb73dd66771e51bf5046575e.jpg


==Arnhem Calling==
http://images.couchsurfing.us.s3.amazonaws.com/1X9GA8A/7770213_l_8603c1f3667916c4116bd86b6bf63f50.jpg


When the preparations started after the ambassador meeting we were thrilled to take up such a challenge for our small city.  
===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 [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!


Now, a few months later, the preparations are in full swing. Many people are working hard to create an event that is
Cheers,
different, yet also familiar. With plenty of socializing and couchsurfing going on it is going to be an event where you make new friends
[http://www.couchsurfing.org/people/riddergraniet Coen]
but where you also have the chance to catch up with old ones.


What do we have in store for you????????
=News from CS Netherlands=


===City tour===
==New Ambassador program==
Be creative in the city tour: a tour where you will not just see the sights but also realize that Arnhem is a city full of culture, art, fashion, and fun.
The tour is led by a notorious guide who also did the Zutphen tour, which turned out to be a great success. You can expect some really cool things during this tour and it will most definitely be worth your time. You might see something like this love poem here :)........


Liefste rollator,
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].


Je liep knarsend en piepend mijn licht in.
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.
Ik straalde diep en wilde dat ik dichter bij de grond was,
verbonden met de aarde en met jou.
Heb je mijn opwinding opgemerkt
toen ik ineens blozend een beetje rood begon te schijnen?
Ik deed het voor jou maar
je was supersnel weer in de volgende schaduw verdwenen.
Nu hang ik hier het donker weg te jagen,
als een stel ganzen op zoek naar de zon,
wegdromend bij je knaloranje kleur.
Als je nog eens voorbij komt rollen,
mag ik me dan in je mandje laten vallen?
Dan kunnen we samen keet schoppen
en de wereld al rollend verlichten met ons kattenkwaad.
Voor eeuwig zal ik branden, tot je weer onder me door loopt.
Jij bent mijn knarsende, piepende, “alles-op-rolletjes”.


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


Je lantaarnpaallampje.
=Nomadic adventures=


(Sorry for the Dutch: it's not really translatable.
Do you have a nice travelstory? Tell us!
The story is about a lamppost falling in love on another object.
They need love too right.)


===Loesje workshop(16pax)===
==Dodging bullets in Syria==


Loesje from Arnhem: you might know her or you might not, but she's famous !!!!!
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.  
All around the world she distributes funny texts that make you laugh or think.
And on the Arnhem calling meeting you get the chance to make your own Loesje text.  
In a 2 1/2 hour course you will learn all the ins and outs about Loesje and you will love her when you're done.


Some examples of Loesje texts:
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.


The world is TOO ROUND to silently sit in the corner.
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!


I woke up this morning and found the world on my doorstep.
[http://www.couchsurfing.org/people/chiel/ Chiel]
(read more about Chiel's travels on his [http://www.manvandewereld.blogspot.com blog])


One's plenty can be used to fill someone else's lack.
[http://images.couchsurfing.us.s3.amazonaws.com/2F1VS00/3335724_l_d85db16f40ffdea54f3a7d0afc596f91.jpg picture]


Is the earth still round if one side develops faster?
=Exotic couches=


===The hunt===
Do you have a nice hosting story? Tell us!
Have you ever been afraid??
Ever been so scared you were ready to wet your pants?


Your old scares won't mean a thing anymore! Be ready to be truly afraid....
==Interview with [http://www.couchsurfing.org/people/urbian/ Urbian Fritz-James]==


Be ready to be HUNTED!!!!!
1  How did you find out about CouchSurfing?


That is what you can expect in the hunt.
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.


This nightly event will be held in Sonsbeek.
2  What makes your couch special?
And you can expect to be a scared at times.
But nothing life threatening: we promise :)


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.


Of course there will be more activities at Arnhem Calling, like a cool jam session and a pub crawl.
3  Tell about a special person you hosted?
Find out more about the program on http://www.couchsurfing.org/meetings.html?mid=49785.


==Small meeting==
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.


In April 2010 there will be a SMALL CS meeting in and around 's-Hertogenbosch (also known as Den Bosch).
4  What place near your couch would you recommend everybody to visit?


The meeting will have one main eventlocation somewhere in or near 's-Hertogenbosch and several sub-events.
Go to Kinderdijk (windmills) to get some of that nostalgic feeling of Holland


You can join in on the following sub-events:
5  What do you like to see in a good CouchSurf request?


- A city walk around 's-Hertogenbosch. Since we all want to get a good view on all the nice details of the city and hear all the stories, the walk might take a bit longer and take up to 4 hours.  
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.  


- A canal boat tour takes us in the evening through the canal called 'de Binnendieze'.
6  Which sort of guests do you prefer?


- After all the fun things during the day we'll have a party to end the day perfectly!
We prefer couples and ladies. For the rest you will have to be able to speak english and dont be shy.


- If the hang-over stays away we might have a walk into the nature the following day.
7  Which host should we interview in the next newsletter?


Check [http://www.couchsurfing.org/meetings.html?mid=46053 the meetingpage] for more details and sign-up to the subevents that you like.
[http://www.couchsurfing.org/profile.html?id=CI8LAF  Pieter Ter berg]


==CS Carnaval==
[http://images.couchsurfing.us.s3.amazonaws.com/2J65MU/22306_l_7430622ba1bc22932dc363dec4e0cb4f.jpg picture]


Couch Surfing Alaaf! The Netherlands Alaaf! Traveller
=traveltip=
Alaaf!


CS Crazy Couch Surfing Carnaval in the Maastricht (NL)
{{IsIn|CS Organisation Netherlands}}
/ Aachen (D) / Belgian village (B) Euregion.
[[Category:Newsletters]]
 
We start on the 11th of February and go on until
Ashwednesday on the 17th of February. Note that te
official Carnaval days are 14, 15 and 16 February, be
sure to stay till Monday, Tuesday or (best!)
Ashwednesday! Besides sleeping, on Ashwednesday it’s
a custom to go for “haringbijten”, usually with
classical music!
 
All days there is the Carnaval Style Open CS House at
Marten’s place, close to the central station and the
center; for meeting, disguising and eating! During all
days there are Carnaval activities from the end of the
morning until deep in the night! Main organizers are
Frank ~ inofficial CS Carnaval Ambassador ~ who’s
guiding you through the traditions from the morning
till midnight, and Marten whom you can follow for
Carnaval “the nightlife edition”.
 
The organizers are giving each square cm, so just the
two of us can already host 33 people at the same time!
 
[http://www.couchsurfing.org/meetings.html?mid=33037 Sign up!]
 
==Midsummernight in the park 2010==
 
Still a long time to go, but you can already [http://www.couchsurfing.org/meetings.html?mid=57224 sign up] to celebrate midsummernight in Utrecht for the 3rd time!
 
To get an idea of what you can expect, take a look at the [http://www.couchsurfing.org/meetings.html?mid=23092 meeting] page of last year.
 
==Regular CS meetings!==
 
 
Many cities throughout the whole country organize meetings. Some meetings might be a-once-in-a-lifetime event that you can attend, others are held on a more regular basis.
 
Mostly, the meetings are held at a bar in the city center where you can have a drink, talk and laugh with other (local) CS members. You don't have to be an experienced CouchSurfer to attend a meeting, new or old members; you are more than welcome to come along! So if you would like to meet other CS members in your area: don't hesitate to attend one of those regular meetings!
 
If you don't know whether your city/village/town organizes a regular meeting than take a look at the CS Eventpage. This overview can easily be found by going to your CS front page. Click at Community > Search events and fill out the area you would like to attend a meeting at! In a moment of seconds all the meetings organized in your city pop up. Let the fun begin!
 
=Community uitgelicht/place unknown=
 
==Amersfoort==
 
The CouchSurfing Amersfoort community is a young CS group, one of the smallest in The Netherlands. Nevertheless, CS Amersfoort grew rather fast in the past couple of months. Currently, Amersfoort has 104 members from various countries.
 
Being a small community doesn't automatically mean Amersfoort has an inactive community. Besides monthly meetings - usually every first Friday of the month - other events and activities are being organised on a regular basis. For instance, the Polish Food @ Home meeting that took place in November 2009. It attracted many CouchSurfers from Amersfoort, places elsewhere in the Netherlands and travellers from abroad. People brought typical Polish food – which was a home match for some and a rather challenging undertaking for others. Thanks to the host of this meeting and the professional guidance given by two Polish CouchSufers, this event was not only a very yummie one! It also brought together many CouchSurfers who had never met before which made this event turn out as a big success with lots of fun. Besides, it inspired CS Amersfoort to arrange even more Food @ Home meetings with a specific country character. There have been an Indian and Italian Food @ Home meeting before, and there are doubtlessly many more to come.
 
==Leeuwarden==
Since the summer of 2009 the couchsurfers of Leeuwarden have tried to organize some meetings to get to know each other. After an ice-cream meeting and a meeting in a bar where three people showed up, we really got some people together at what's now called the first monthly meeting on Wednesday September 16th. We met at 'De Stee', a bar right across the bus- and train station, so people that had to come from outside of Leeuwarden could easily find it. After that we decided to have a monthly meeting on the Wednesday closest to the 15th of the month. So far we have had great fun meeting new people and people we met at other meetings. We are starting to make plans: city exchanges and couchsurfs with a theme like visit the place with the longest city name or visit at least one couch in every province in the coming year. If you are interested in meeting up with us. Check the upcoming event page at couchsurfing.com. Also if you are interested in a city exchange we would be glad to host a group from any city and show you around! You can contact us via the Leeuwarden CS group.
 
=CS Netherlands news=
 
==CS location-database fixing==
 
Couchsurfing Geography
 
Among the different groups of volunteers who contribute to the site improvement, there is a team in charge of fixing and maintaining the Couchsurfing location database. This database contains the list of regions, countries, provinces and cities that you use when you select your location in your profile, when you do a CouchSearch or when you select the location of an event.
Since last October, this team has started a comprehensive correction of the database for the Netherlands. This process is done province by province. As we write these lines, the provinces Noord-Holland, Zuid-Holland, Utrecht and Flevoland are completed while Noord-Brabant is in progress.
The correction consists in:
- checking the spelling of places names
- relocating cities into the right province
- merging cities when needed (like Etten and Leur which make Etten-Leur in Noord Brabant)
- merging wrongly listed districts names with the city they are part of (like Statenkwartier which was merged with The Hague)
- adjusting the cities coordinates (latitude and longitude) from which distances between cities are calculated: this is used when you make a CouchSearch with a x kilometers radius.
All these changes aim to make it easier for surfers and hosts to find each other, as this is the core of Couchsurfing.
 
==Family welcome Netherlands==
 
[http://www.couchsurfing.org/group.html?gid=23160 Family welcome Netherlands]
 
Just for the people that have not had any experience
with the so called “Family Welcome Group” I like to
give a little introduction about this family friendly
group.
 
It all started with a few people that like to use the
CS system and take the [http://images.couchsurfing.us.s3.amazonaws.com/21KOQ15/4084390_l_09ffe8f3e570d1bf22d06e9168714572.jpg children along]. They formed a
group, and soon many members popped-up and showed
interest in sharing experiences and inviting other
families to their house. [http://images.couchsurfing.us.s3.amazonaws.com/21KOQ15/5618745_l_faa96418804b4343f10e66de23234d14.jpg International Family Meetings]
where soon organised, and all where very enthusiastic
about the way their children started to get involved in
hospitality and sharing towards others, finding a way
around language barriers and enjoy many hours of fun
with (inter)national friends.
 
More and more families joined in this fun, and now
there even is a Family Welcome Group Netherlands. In
this group Dutch families come together for sharing
experiences and through the CS website can easily be
found by other international families that like to
visit the Netherlands.
Please know that you not need to be a family yourself
to join in on these groups, if you like to host or surf
or share with families you are very welcome to join.
 
This spring we hope to organise a meeting where many
[http://images.couchsurfing.us.s3.amazonaws.com/21KOQ15/4859304_l_379957ef1e13ebcbd0b04a1a2d2db155.jpg families] will be part of. Where the children can
meet&play and parents can enjoy&share this great thing
that is called Family Couchsurfing!
So, if you are, or know a family that likes to get
involved let them know about this wonderful group of
people. We hope to see everyone soon!
 
=tips / trivia=
 
== Traveltip for inside the Netherlands ==
If you like to do cheap sightseeing in Noord-Brabant than a good deal might be the [http://www.brabant.nl/dossiers/dossiers-op-thema/verkeer-en-vervoer/openbaar-vervoer/bussen-in-brabant/actie-de-bus,-d-,-beter-dus/kaarten-en-tarieven/dagkaart.aspx dayticket] that you can buy on request only from the busdriver.
The system is simple: When you are boarding the bus you don't buy a normal ticket but a Dagkaartje and pay in cash exact 3 euro(often they can't change from bigger money).
With this ticket you can use all busses in the complete province [http://www.storm-buitensport.nl/displayImage.html?iid=3450 Noord-Brabant].
As Brabant is one of the biggest provinces there are many things that you can visit for just that 3 euro in one day. You can plan your route at the [http://journeyplanner.9292.nl/ 9292 routeplanner] or if you have NO internet just dail: 0900-9292 (€ 0,70 p/m, max € 14,-)
 
=foto couch=
 
Couchsurfing EXTREME
Ever had massive numbers of people surfing your couch???
Was it ever so full you were afraid that it might break because of the sheer weight pressing on it.
The Couchsurfing Newsletter challenges you to top 5 people on one couch. Easy? Proof it!!!
Make a nice photograph of hordes of people on the same couch and tell us what happened.
The best picture will be selected for the Couchsurfing newsletter volume II.
 
[[File:Couch1.jpg|200px|thumb|left|5 people on one couch]]

Latest revision as of 19:55, 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:

http://images.couchsurfing.us.s3.amazonaws.com/1X9GA8A/7869872_l_d4aa32afa3c87006c610c513658f1e5f.jpg

http://images.couchsurfing.us.s3.amazonaws.com/1X9GA8A/7770295_l_671ade1bfeaaa2ea00c51695fefbaf1b.jpg

http://images.couchsurfing.us.s3.amazonaws.com/1X9GA8A/7770316_l_22883d7bfb73dd66771e51bf5046575e.jpg

http://images.couchsurfing.us.s3.amazonaws.com/1X9GA8A/7770213_l_8603c1f3667916c4116bd86b6bf63f50.jpg

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)

picture

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

picture

traveltip

Retrieved from "https://wiki.trustroots.org/w/index.php?title=CS_newsletter_for_the_Netherlands&oldid=5838"