| Jasper Haenen is a CS Ambassador living in Utrecht! |
| Jasper Haenen is a CS Traveling Band or Musician! |
| Jasper Haenen has been vouched for |
| VERIFIED MEMBER Identity Checked, Location Verified (3) more info |
| Couch available | Yes |
|---|
| CouchSurf requests replied to | 100% |
|---|
| member since | March 8th, 2007 |
|---|
| profile views | 15,177 |
|---|
| age | 32 |
|---|
| gender | Male |
|---|
| membername | KILGORETROUT |
|---|
| occupation | Telling Dutch high-schoolkids about the world aka Geography teacher |
|---|
| education | University of Life (and officially Urban Planning / Social Geography at the Utrecht University) |
|---|
| grew up in | Gemert, Brabant, the Netherlands |
|---|
| Direct Profile URL |
|---|
Languages- Dutch (Netherlands)Expert
- English (United Kingdom)Expert
- GermanBeginner
Couch Information
Couch Available: Yes
Preferred Gender: Any
Max Surfers Per Night: 10
Shared Sleeping Surface: No
Shared Room: NoI live together in a nice house with my girlfriend Liza (lizzie82ish). The attic is a seperate couchsurfingroom. If necessary we could squeeze a lot people in, but we rather keep it personal and host just a few people at a time and not more than around 4 times a month (that is in average of course). SURFING WITH ME?
My couch and me are a packagedeal. I'm interested to get to know people I host, this only works if you're also interested in me :) I might be busy with work, but will always try to spend time with you (going to CS-meetings, showing you Utrecht, sharing dinner, playing boardgames, etc). If you're into this, we might be looking forward to a great time, if you're only looking for a free hostel, please don't contact me.
UTRECHT!
I love to show people around show them everything I know and introduce them to the reasons I love this city (history, architecture, nightlife, bars, people, etc).
HOUSE
I live together with Liza and Mees (a shy but curious cat). The house is located near the popular, multicultural neighbourhood called Lombok (famous among other things for good and cheap food). The trainstation is hardly more then 10 min. walking. Although there are a lot of activities nearby the house is on a relative quit spot.
Check for info for Couchsurfers about Utrecht in the CouchWiki or Utrecht on Google maps
WHEN?
Best time to surf my place is in the weekends when I have time to show you around. In weekdays me and my girlfriend have to work, I can also host people on those days, but that means not minding to get up early in the morning and entertain yourself. A small clue on the availability of my couch (of course doens't say all), can be seen in my online agenda:
REQUESTING
If you want me to be happy when I receive your request consider the following things:
* Please show something from yourself (either in your profile or in your message). I don't host people I don't know anything about. It's always cool to know in advance that you have something to talk about (it definately makes me more willing to host people).
* Please show that you took an effort to find out about me. I'm not a hotel. So only request if you think you can have a cool time with me.
* I only host people with a CS profile. So if you travel with a friend, please make sure you're friend also has a profile. Your profile doesn't have to be experienced (everybody has to start somewhere).
* Utrecht is not a suburb of Amsterdam. I tend to get sad If people only talk about Amsterdam in couchrequests.
* It is a waste of both your and my time to send the same message to both me and my girlfriend Liza (we offer the same couch), above that, this way we will see how much you have copypasted ;)
* An extra welcome goes out to everyone who travels by responsible means (bike, hitchhiking, train, etc).
If you want to show in an easy way that you've red all of this you could put the world "Yippy-ya-yee" in your message (no obligation though, you can also think of something yourself to make your request stand out).
ps. When I accept a couchrequest I expect you show up. If you don't show up and don't communicate about it I will leave a reference. Friends (312)
 Liza van Kuijk
30, Female
Utrecht, Utrecht
Netherlands
Friends since September 2002
"He is my boyfriend"
Friendship Type: Best Friend
I vouched for Jasper Haenen
  30+  30+  30+ |
 Jullie Shipley
25, Female
Berlin, Berlin
Germany
Friends since April 2007
"jasper lent me a lovely matress for queensday!"
Friendship Type: Good Friend
I vouched for Jasper Haenen
3 |
 Timo Linting
23, Male
De Bilt, Utrecht
Netherlands
Friends since December 2007
"Through couchsurfmeetings"
Friendship Type: CouchSurfing Friend
I vouched for Jasper Haenen
|
 Veronique Vanonckelen
26, Several people
Turnhout, Antwerp
Belgium
Friends since November 2008
"He almost put me in the bag of Sinterklaas to bring me back home with him ^^"
Friendship Type: Friend
I vouched for Jasper Haenen
3 |
 Ties Timmers
31, Male
Utrecht, Utrecht
Netherlands
Friends since January 1995
"Jasper played the bass in my first band!"
Friendship Type: Good Friend
|
 Jordi Ask Me
33, Male
Mataro, Catalonia
Spain
Friends since August 2004
"I met Hasper in my first workcamp, I'm very happy and proud to be his friend, he's a guy to enjoy. really."
Friendship Type: Good Friend
2 21 |
 Emre Ayranci
30, Male
Irvine, California
United States
Friends since June 2007
"Meet in the Utreht picnic gathering and go on afterwards"
Friendship Type: Good Friend
I vouched for Jasper Haenen
|
 Florian van Kuijk
31, Male
Delft, Zuid-Holland
Netherlands
Friends since October 2005
"he is my sister's boyfriend"
Friendship Type: Friend
I vouched for Jasper Haenen
2 6 |
 TIMZ
31, Male
Utrecht, Utrecht
Netherlands
Friends since September 2007
"We met several times, I am happy to know Jasper & Liza!"
Friendship Type: Good Friend
1 |
 Erno Schaakxs
34, Male
Utrecht, Utrecht
Netherlands
Friends since September 2005
"Jasper is also a member of the Ska-band STAMPEDE"
Friendship Type: Good Friend
| | |
|
Personal DescriptionLife is short, so I try not to waste it. I like to be active in all sorts of ways and like to see and learn about the world around me. Couchsurfing not only gives me a nice travelling option, but also gives me a chance to invite the world in my house. If you want to know more about me just check the rest of my profile, that probably says more than me talking about me :)
Feel also free to add me on Facebook
Jasper Haenen
Create your badge
 How I Participate in CSIf you're not happy about couchsurfing going commercial, please contact me on Be Welcome
Since I also have to work I host more then I travel, but when I travel I try to surf couches.
I see it as my humble duty to get more couchsurfers to Utrecht. I still cannot understand why this city isn't a big tourist hub, it has everything a great city needs. But on the other hand, the total absence of tourists makes the beauty of Utrecht even more precious.
Utrecht is also a town with a great and active CS-community. Since we don't get that much travellers we meet up with each other quite often.
CouchSurfing ExperienceLike lots of people in the network I surfed couches long before I became member, like in Poland, Turkey and Sweden. I already knew how cool it is to have friends all over, and was already member of Hospitality Club, so it wasn't hard to convince me to join in to Couchsurfing.
After becoming member and hosting a few people the couchsurfing-virus struck me pretty hard when I went to the first CS-meeting in Utrecht. After experiencing surfing in the Balkans and visiting the great community of Vienna I was completely sold.
It appeared to be very easy to create a community in Utrecht, but I am still surprised how many great people in my hometown alone I keep on meeting through couchsurfing. Couchsurfing became a way of life. I organised lots of meetings in Utrecht, including the big Midsummernight.
Since I have a normal job I cannot travel that often, but when I do I try to surf couches. I already surfed couches in Serbia, Hungary, Austria, Italy, France, Spain, Germany, Belgium, Thailand, Bulgaria, Macedonia, Greece and of course the Netherlands. I hope this list will keep on growing!
Jaspers couches weergeven op een grotere kaartInterestsAlternative lifestyles, Belgium beer, Books, Music, Boardgames, Geography/Travel, Movies, Politics, Vegetarian cooking, culture in general and of course you ;)Philosophy'Being a Humanist means trying to behave decently without expectation of rewards or punishment after you are dead.'
(Kurt Vunnegot)
"You are what you love, not what loves you" (Donald Kaufman, 2002)
"I'm going to die with a twinkle in my eye,
'cause I sung songs spun stories love laughed and drunk wine"
(The Cat Empire, 2005)
"They say you can't yell 'fire' in a crowded theater unless it's actually on fire. That means if I want to have free speech, I have to become an arsonist." - Stephen Colbert
Mijn vader zegt altijd: "Wat je niet kan veranderen, dat moet je accepteren." Terwijl ik vind: "Wat je niet kan accepteren dat moet je veranderen!" - Theo Maassen
'Laughter and tears are both responses to frustration and exhaustion. I myself prefer to laugh, since there is less cleaning up to do afterward.'
(Kurt Vonnegut)
And above that a convinced BokononistMusic, Movies, BooksStampede (my own band)
Generally I like music to have a happy time with, somehow this mostly happens to me with 'organic' music. No offense to computers, but that just doesn't do it to me that much. I can enjoy light and happy dancemusic as Funk, Soul, Ska, Reggae and Balkan beats, but also heavy music like Metal and hardcore Hiphop. What's important in both is a good groove (I play that bass myself ;) ), an energetic live show and a positive vision through good lyrics.
One band that can always make me happy is The Cat Empire. Other Bands that blow my mind are: Spearhead, Gogol Bordello, Dresden Dolls, Sublime, Jamie Lidell, Tool, The Slackers, Boo!, Babylon Circus, dEus, Apocalyptica, Watcha, Kyteman, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Mr. Bungle, Primus and of course all local bands couchsurfers introduced me to...
Books:
Kurt Vunnegot is my big hero! Nobody else can mix deep thoughts with silly humor as he can. I agree both with his positive lightness as with his apocalyptic visions.
Other writers I enjoyed a lot lately: Matt Ruff, Neil Stephenson, Chuck Palahniuk, Douglas Copeland, Geert Mak, J.K. Rowling, Orhan Pamuk, Tad Williams, Isaak Asimov, Gore Vidal, D.B.C. Pierre, Yann Martell, Ben Elton, Mumia Abu Jamal and many more...
Find out more about my books in my
Bookcrossing profile
In my youth I was a big fan of comic books, still like them but haven't got time to keep up with what's interesting.
Movies:
Terry Gilliam says about all of my taste: dark, layered, funny, creative, dreamy and visionary. I like movies that make you think and still amazes you at the end. Other filmmakers that will always achieve this with me are: Tim Burton, Christopher Nolan, Charlie Kaufman, Jeunet & Caro, David Fincher and Emir Kusturica
TV:
Nothing beats Brittish comedy (Monty Python, Blackadder, We are klang, Allo Allo, Red dwarf, etc). Sadly all you English speakers wont ever understand Dutch caberet (Hans Teeuwen, Theo Maassen, Herman Finkers, etc), closest would probably be the dark and idealistic american dead heroes George Carlin and Bill Hicks (Who I also really enjoy).
Being a teacher I also like to be aware (my girlfriend calls me a walking encyclopedia, I like to live up to that image), so I also watch a lot of news items and documentarys on T.V. Types of People I enjoyPeople who are interested in other people, care about the world around them, have ideals, live life in a way they want, not in a way they have to and of course people who can teach me interesting new things...Teach, Learn, ShareI'm a geography teacher, It's hard not to mix work and privat on couchsurfing. Only if you want to I can teach you all about the special insane country the Netherlands is (I also know a lot about history). I also play bass in a skaband an am a vegetarian, both also require some skills ;)
You're a very bad teacher if you can't learn so I'm also always curious about others. I've used quite a lot couchsurfers allready in examples in my lessons at school. I'm also always happy with new knowledge about music and cooking.
The one thing you realy HAVE to learn if you surf a dutch couch is riding on the back of a bike 'cause thats the best way of transport in here. One Amazing Thing I've Seen or DoneIt's the simple things that make life greatOpinion on the CouchSurfing.org ProjectIf you're not happy about couchsurfing going commercial, please contact me on Be Welcome
It has been a long time that I was so enthousiastic about something. It is rare that ideals and personal interest mixes so smoothly. Both hosting and surfing gave me great experiences, it's always a lot of fun, very often full of eye-openers and totally fits with my idea of a better world. Locations TraveledTRAVELED: Albania, Austria, Belgium, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Cambodia, Canada, Czech Republic, Denmark, England, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Italy, Laos, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Macedonia-FYROM, Montenegro, Netherlands, Poland, Serbia, Slovakia, Spain, Sweden, Thailand, Turkey, United Arab Emirates, United States
LIVED: Netherlands
WANTS TO GO: Albania, Croatia, Cuba, Georgia, Indonesia, Malta, Mexico, Peru, Romania
IS GOING TO: Estonia, Finland, Latvia
What do these numbers mean?
This summary is not a replacement for reading references; it's a quick summary to help you get started. At a glance, you can see how many references a member has, and how many of them are positive, neutral, and negative.
In the second line, you'll see how many references came from people who hosted this member, surfed with them, and traveled with them. These numbers won't always add up to the total: some references are not categorized, and some may be categorized as more than one thing.
When viewing this summary, don't jump to conclusions! Things that are negative for one person may be positive for another, and vice versa. It's important to read references carefully and evaluate what that information means to you. References (227)226Positive 1Neutral 0Negative
47From Hosts 110From Surfers 16Traveling
 From Rob Driessen Schiedam, Netherlands
Nov 30, 2011 Positive Jasper was my first CS-ambassador. I was honored to host him. I might have corrupted him by letting a true musician play on a plastic game-guitar. Only time will tell ;) Hope to catch him again at a Utrecht CS event one of these days, if only to thank him for getting me hooked on bockbeer from Utrecht.
 From CETH Vienna, Austria
Nov 28, 2011  Positive Mees hosted me and Andres on our first lap of the great Sinterklaas Road-trip 2011! This way we also met Jasper and Liza and their evil little wiiiii that called me obese! :P I just have heavy bones!
I felt really welcome at their cozy home in utrecht and will definitely check out Matt Ruff now! ;)
 From Adam Denis Be'er Sheva, Israel
Nov 17, 2011 Positive Jasper was really cool, he even took us to a walk in the city , explained us everything, and he meet alot of his students across the street so he probably feel as a celebrity in his city ;). We enjoyed together an amazing Shakshuka I must say , and couple of beers along the way.
 From Shauna Blackmon Lawrence, United States
Nov 15, 2011 Positive Jasper and Liza are such charming, smart and kind people. My travel buddy is the one lucky enough to have found them and last second I joined in. They were very nice about my added presence and did everything they could to make us feel at home and show us the city. Jasper really loves Utrecht and knows a lot of weird interesing facts about it. His band is great, he is great, his girlfriend is great, his cat is weird, but also great. Thanks guys for a lovely stay in Utrecht!
 From ANGELAKE Vilnius, Lithuania
Nov 5, 2011 Positive First, it was free hug's campaign, organised by a friend in Vilnius and then the CS Halloween party in Utrecht, that was one of Jasper's monthly meetings :) It was fun to participate! And I really hope to learn and use something from your CS group, because you have some really great ideas ;)
See you some next time!
 From Gil Saar Tel Aviv-Yafo, Israel
Nov 4, 2011 Positive i don't think there is a better guide for Utrecht than Jasper - he explained us everything from A to Z. we spent nice time and had some beer together. thank you guys and send hi to Mees.
 From Marc Fortin Granby, Canada
Nov 1, 2011 Positive Jasper is the best ambassador Utrecht could wish for, he should even be paid by the city to do that! His love of geography and passion for history was a blessing for me. I highly recommand Jasper and his girlfriend Liza to anyone who wants to be with good people who cares about other.
 From Steven Rees Narrabri, Australia
Oct 25, 2011 Positive If Utrecht was a girl then Paper would be the best boy friend in the world. Out of all my couch surf i think i have only meet one person who is more oasionaye about their city, n he was rom manchester. Absolutely cracking time being toured by Jasper not to mention hom organising my last minute couch. The can is a hero. Peace.
 From Lea Küchler Lucerne, Switzerland
Oct 14, 2011 Positive Jasper an Liza (and mees) were very friendly hosts. we stayed at their home for the whole trip we had in Holland which we were really happy about.
They also lend us a jacket and gloves since it was colder as we thought.
we also had very interesting dinners with them and they had some spare maps we could use.
also we enjoyed utrecht a lot.
 From Josh Baker Adelaide, Australia
Sep 13, 2011 Positive Surfing with Jasper and Liza was great. We shared some good food (thanks for showing me that pizza can be healthy man!) We shared beer, wine and some good conversation as well as some laughs watching monty python, i think you guys have started me down the monty python road :-) Thanks a lot for your hospitality!!
|
63 
Europe
Utrecht
