Couch Available: Coffee or a drink Preferred Gender: Any
My girlfriend Noemi and I recently welcomed our daughter Sienna into our lives (April 2010) which means that we are very busy now and can't host anyone at this time. Besides that we are also planning some other changes in our life that will keep us occupied for the next six months or more.
Rolf Coucke 33, Male Sint-Niklaas, East-Flanders Belgium Friends since January 1998 "He's my best friend. We see each other at least once a week and know eachother for over 10 years." Friendship Type: Best Friend I vouched for Olivier Van Puyvelde 30+30+
Noemi Caspe 39, Female Can-Avid, Eastern Samar Philippines Friends since May 2009 "My Prince Charming from Belgium" Friendship Type: Best Friend 30+30+
Linda Francken 32, Female Brasschaat, Antwerp Belgium Friends since June 2001 "We had a relationship for 7 years, still very good friends" Friendship Type: Best Friend I vouched for Olivier Van Puyvelde 30+
Somsiah Parman 54, Female Kuala Lumpur, Kuala Lumpur Federal Territory Malaysia Friends since November 2008 "Olivier is my first guest through CS, and I could not ask for anyone better. He is now a dear friend and family." Friendship Type: Close Friend I vouched for Olivier Van Puyvelde 1473
Sven Delmeiren 33, Male Gent, East-Flanders Belgium Friends since July 2007 "Met him about a year ago at several parties and soon he'll be my travel companion for Asia !" Friendship Type: Good Friend I vouched for Olivier Van Puyvelde 1
I'm an easy-going thirty-something guy from Belgium with a passion for traveling, discovering foreign cultures and meeting people from all over the globe. I'm a dreamer and I love to make plans. Sometimes I can be quite impulsive, but on the other hand this has offered me some of my most precious memories. My friends like my enthusiasm and my crazy ideas, and my wicked sense of humor.
As for traveling, I prefer to visit the non-touristic places most of the time, still untouched by mass tourism, over-development and pollution. Organized city trips are definitely not my cup of tea. I just love spontaneous encounters with people and places in general. That's why I like the freedom of traveling so much. I'm a typical backpacker who loves nature and adventure and who doesn't mind spending the night outside. I never travel with suitcases, hardly ever stay in hotels or hostels and I don't stick to fixed itineraries or plan too much in advance. I believe that most places can only be fully appreciated when you take your time for doing so. I want to be fascinated whenever I travel and experience the different cultures as much as I can. I want to be PART of it, not just an observer. I never really understood why so many people travel abroad and stay in hotels all the time, expecting the same luxury and routine as back home.
I left my home country Belgium in September of 2008 and embarked on a long adventurous trip through Asia for more than a year, meeting wonderful people along the way and exploring many amazing places. This trip has changed my life in many ways. I met the love of my life in Hong Kong and we moved to her home country (The Philippines) together in November 2009.
CouchSurfing Experience
I became a member of CS in 2004, mainly because I was fascinated by the idea of SHARING a bit of your life and experiences with others. CouchSurfing opened a whole new world for me. Whenever I surf a couch, my first reason to do so is to get to know my host and take some part in his or her life. To me, that's what CouchSurfing is all about. It happened to me many times that I was surfing a couch in a place with lots of things to see but ended up spending most of my time with my host(s) because we were enjoying each other's company so much. Everyone has interesting stories to tell and great things to share. To me, traveling really is about PEOPLE in the first place.
Interests
Traveling and meeting people, outdoor activities, crazy road trips, adventurous sports, hiking, movies, music, concerts and music festivals, cooking, digital photography.
Philosophy
Dream as if you will live forever, live as if you will die today.
-James Dean
Music, Movies, Books
Making a list of movies that I like would take a very long time (I'm a real movie buff), so let's stick to my favourite directors : Stanley Kubrick, Werner Herzog, Terrence Malick, Darren Aronofsky, David Fincher, Christopher Nolan, Susanne Bier, Zhang Yimou, Hayao Miyazaki, Guillermo Del Toro, Shane Meadows, Ridley Scott and Quentin Tarantino. I really like good documentaries and arthouse cinema.
When it comes to music, I have a very wide taste as long as it's not too commercial and has some true talent lying within. I can spend hours in a row searching for new bands that only very few people know, online or in record stores. I love it to go to concerts and music festivals as well. Music makes me breathe every day, can't live without it.
Some bands/singers that I really like (in a random order) : Loreena McKennitt, Melody Gardot, Train, Counting Crows, Stacey Kent, Alicia Keys, Joss Stone, Brandi Carlile, The Decemberists, Bjork, Alanis Morissette, Diane Birch, Florence and The Machine, Erin McCarley, Dixie Chicks, Sugarland, Lady Antebellum, A Fine Frenzy, Imelda May, Hooverphonic, Novastar, Stash, Zornik, Regina Spektor, The Shins,...
Next to that I'm also really into Metal, especially the more melodic stuff such as Nightwish, Secret Sphere, Theocracy, Nocturnal Rites, Therion, Paradise Lost, Masterplan, Paradise Lost, Sabaton, Mob Rules, Insomnium, Amorphis, and many more bands. I go to metal concerts and festivals quite often.
Types of People I enjoy
I enjoy people who have a good sense of humor but who can also have serious conversations. People that are honest, friends you can share a laugh & tear with. Adventurous, independent travelers like me! People who like challenges and new experiences, and who can talk passionately about the things they love. I like people with creative ideas.
Teach, Learn, Share
I did my share of voluntary work abroad and I'd love to share those experiences with people who aspire to do the same. I love it to share music with others, I'm open for everything and there are always many great bands out there to be discovered. The same thing can be said about movies, photography and traveling.
One Amazing Thing I've Seen or Done
Here are just a few great memories of my travels :
Traveling along the astonishingly beautiful Sichuan-Tibetan-Highway in South-West China : meeting the authentic Tibetan people and enjoying the breath-taking mountain scenery along the way.
Trekking to the rice terraces in Batad village, Philippines. A breath-taking piece of nature in the midst of the Cordillera Mountains! Cruising by motorbike on the island Palawan and go island-hopping in El Nido. Climbing Mount Mayon volcano in Bicol. Checking out the great live music scene in Manila. I just love The Philippines!
Living in a remote village on the countryside for more than one month in Cambodia. I lost my heart there doing some voluntary work and I just love the Cambodian people!
Trekking to Mount Everest Base Camp in Nepal for 19 days. It was very challenging but the views of the Himalaya were breath-taking...never to be forgotten!
Being overwhelmed by the wonderful Taj Mahal in Agra, India. No matter how many pictures of it you already saw before, being there is an absolutely enchanting experience!
Celebrating Christmas and New Year's Eve in Moscow as a part of a Russian family. The singing, the dancing, the drinking, the toasting, the food, the snow, ... a unique experience.
Opinion on the CouchSurfing.org Project
The world is smaller than you think and CS really brings people together all over the globe, no matter what your ethnicity or religion is. I met many lifetime friends through CS and hope to meet many more in the future.
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.
From Noemi Caspe Can-Avid, Philippines Nov 9, 2009
Positive
We met at Pier 6 Hong Kong ferry terminal and got lost in the surrounding islands together which gave me a chance to get to know him better. On the next day we met again for sightseeing and I was struck by his great sense of humour and his charm. We soon fell in love and we have been very close ever since. He is my Belgian Prince Charming and I love him so much!
Olivier was so nice to invite me to his friend's house that is so near to mine for a movie night. He's a true movie enthusiast and has a lot of enlightening reviews of international films. Good luck in setting up a restaurant in the Phillippines and regards to your girl! See ya there maybe... :)
Oliver is great guy that knows a lot of great movies. His movies collection are superb. We met at 3rd CS film Club gathering. It was the only time when all of the 3 moderators were present(me, Leeping, Oliver). We had talked a lot about movies and we had watched a Serbian movie from my collection which has been searched by Oliver for almost 1 year. Hope to see you again in near future.
Olivier impressed me by the number of places he has been to in the Philippines. He travelled to several parts of my country that I haven't been to. I hope he would still be in Belium if ever i come to visit the country. Or maybe he can tour me to Palawan in the Philippines because that's his favorite place.
OOpss,why he stay so long?? It is not because of us..he steal my galfriend! hahaha He is a chill, relax, mellow guy really different from his friend Rolf. They have one common are both tried very hard to finish my cookies...hahaha :D This fellow still in HK but where is he? I really don't know and he hang out with my beautiful friend more than us..hehehe We are happy for him to find his love from us and he better keep his promise to treat my friend good and we are the 1st one to know and invite to his wedding!!
The happiness is a communicative feeling.
Here is the guy full of kindness and humanity.
Just the same understanding of life and trips.
We tried to buy (whaou..) and cook together western food in the middle of nowhere in Sichuan. Unforgettable..
Based on my snap judgment, I think we'll get along pretty well. We seemed to share some common interests specially in Metal Music. He gave me a list of good Metal Bands to listen to, and I'm looking forward to go to some of the great Metal festivals in Europe. I like his ideas in life. He's very open-minded and definitely an adventurer. Enjoy Philippines!
From Amanda Macchi Oldwick, United States Mar 11, 2009
Positive
I met Oliver through Nabil, a fellow couch surfer and roommate at Wat Phnom with my kids from the orphanage. He was very helpful that day and then went on to help out in a big way up in a remote village in Kratie Province. I am really impressed with his efforts and how well he got on considering he was new to this country. I would highly recommend you get to know Oliver, he is easy going, kind and fun to be around.
Olivier, I think now you became a King and Mathilda is a Queen of the village, where ever you go always got at least 5-10 followers ( children in the village follow Olivier&Mathilda).
Olivier fell in love with Koh Tbeng Village, Kratie Province-Cambodia. He is helping people in Koh Tbeng Village to reduce poverty.
He is kind and has a great heart and has done so much for people in Koh Tbeng Village in Kratie Province-Cambodia such as: helped a family to build new house, hired an English teacher to teach children in the village, bought the children new clothes, bought 2 bicycles for 2 ladies for them selling vegetable and brought 2 sick children to Phnom Penh for medical treatment. Olivier, i am very appreciated to what you did in Koh Tbeng Village.
Would like to tell you one thing "You're a GOD " Lun Luy's mother said.
Hope your wish ( own a house in Koh Tbeng village) will come true....
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Antwerpen
CS Malaysia Film Club
Cisterciënsers op bezinning.
Palawan
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