| Alwin, Kristin and kids Jacobs has been vouched for |
| VERIFIED MEMBER Identity Checked, Location Verified (3) more info |
| Couch available | Yes |
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| CouchSurf requests replied to | 100% |
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| member since | February 7th, 2008 |
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| profile views | 7,991 |
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| age | 36 |
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| gender | Several people |
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| membername | SJAKAJA |
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| occupation | assistant shopmanager organic food (Alwin), assistant teamleader Natuurpunt (Kristin) |
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| education | social workers |
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| grew up in | Turnhout, Nijlen, Kontich, Boechout (all Belgium) |
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| ethnicity | Flemish, Belgian, European, Earth, Universe |
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| Direct Profile URL |
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Languages- DutchExpert
- EnglishIntermediate
- FrenchBeginner
- GermanIntermediate
Couch Information
Couch Available: Yes
Preferred Gender: Any
Max Surfers Per Night: 4
Shared Sleeping Surface: No
Shared Room: NoIt is a guest-room.
You want to stay longer? Great! We always welcome people who want to stay longer.
Please use the couchrequest-button if you want to stay here. Thanks!
Because of our kids, we ask you always to arrive the first day before 7 pm. Then you can eat with us and the children can meet you. For the same reason we ask you to stay at least 2 nights.
You are welcome to stay here, to eat with us and share evenings with us. We ask you in return to make a meal for us.
Berlaar is a little village. You can ride a bike (we have two), have beautiful easy walks, see some culturel things arround. We live at 200 meter from the railway station. So in 20 minuts you are in the center of Antwerp. And in 60 minutes you are in Brussels.
We are with 5 persons in this family: my wife and I (early 30) and our three kids. We are non smokers and have no pets in the house (outside: two cats, two chicken, one cock, two rabbits)
We work in Ekeren (Antwerp) and Mechelen and sometimes leave the house early in the morning. But you can sleep as long as you want.
Our house is at the border of the village.
You can sleep here at a extra room with two double-couch-bed (1,40m - 2m). It is possible to put one or two others on the ground but then the house is full. Sheets and blankets are here for four persons.
We eat organic food, if you want it is possible to eat vegetarian.
Oh yes, we prefer to go to sleep early. But we can talk about that.
This is not a place for partylovers. It is more something for people who search for a quiet stay and look around in Belgium.
We have beautifull beers in Belgium. The best in the world, they say. But pleace, if you stay with us, take care about the amount of alcohol you take.
Touristic info
About Berlaar (but you have to know Dutch, sorry)
About de Kempen (the region we live in).
About Lier, a little but nic city at 6 minutes by train. Friends (99)
 Lieke, Peter and kids
34, Several people
Dendermonde, East-Flanders
Belgium
Friends since April 2008
"they came to visit us, finaly we managed tot meet ;-)"
Friendship Type: Good Friend
I vouched for Alwin, Kristin and kids Jacobs
  3 |
 Veronique Vanonckelen
26, Several people
Turnhout, Antwerp
Belgium
Friends since May 2008
"Meetings!!!!"
Friendship Type: Good Friend
I vouched for Alwin, Kristin and kids Jacobs
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 Jonny and Joelle Orr
35, Several people
Echternach, Grevenmacher
Luxembourg
Friends since March 2008
"The whole family came to visit!"
Friendship Type: Good Friend
I vouched for Alwin, Kristin and kids Jacobs
2 |
 Wes Vinck
32, Male
Brasschaat, Antwerp
Belgium
Friends since November 2009
"Kristin and I work the same job"
Friendship Type: Acquaintance
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 Mai Hakuto
23, Female
Brno, South Moravian Region
Czech Republic
Friends since April 2009
"really kind and warm family"
Friendship Type: Good Friend
 5 |
 Ilse Maarten Lilou Kaya Duijvestijn
33, Several people
De Lier, Zuid-Holland
Netherlands
Friends since July 2009
"we've met on the Family Group Meeting in Luxembourgh"
Friendship Type: CouchSurfing Friend
I vouched for Alwin, Kristin and kids Jacobs
 4 |
 Falk Roeske
50, Male
Dessau-Rosslau, Saxony Anhalt
Germany
Friends since July 2008
"They came with the rain and brought 1000 pieces of their organic food shop to us. We had very interesting talks, funny game-time with the kids, got our first basic lessons in dutch language and tasted our first belgish pancakes...so we should have more!!!"
Friendship Type: Close Friend
6 |
 D'anA
34, Female
Antwerp, Antwerp
Belgium
Friends since July 2008
"Sfinks festival 2008 in Belgium"
Friendship Type: Acquaintance
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 Misty Vredenburg
47, Several people
Charlottesville, Virginia
United States
Friends since April 2010
"We surfed their BEDS and played and shared and celebrated!"
Friendship Type: Friend
5 |
 Nichole West
26, Female
Long Beach, California
United States
Friends since May 2008
"Surfed with the Jacobs family for a week"
Friendship Type: Close Friend
I vouched for Alwin, Kristin and kids Jacobs
6 | | |
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Personal DescriptionAaron is our youngest, born in 2005. He is a lifeloving little boy. His best friend is Lennert. He loves "reading" books.
Jolan is the second boy in our family. He is born in 2003. He is a small and smart boy who loves to be creative.
Sander is our oldest son. In 2001 he saw the first time daylight. He loves nature and is playing volleybal.
They all go to a Steinerschool (Waldorf) in Lier.
Kristin is the mother. She is working in nature with people who had no work (re-integration). She loves to be creative and making pictures of nature.
Alwin is the father, most active on this website. Working in a organic food supermarket. And I am also playing volleybal.How I Participate in CSHosting, surfing, greeting (ex-moderator NMW-group), meeting and being an ex-ambassador!
And there was a articel in GVA CouchSurfing Experience Hosted:
 04-2008, 2 nights.
 05-2008, 6 nights.
05-2008, 6 nights
 06-2008, 4 nights
 06-2008, 2 nights
 06-2008, 3 nights
06-2008, 3 nights
 07-2008, 4 nights
 08-2008, 1 night
09-2008, 1 night.
09-2008, 4 nights
 10-2008, 2 nights
 10-2008, 2 nights
11-2008, 2 nights
11-2008, 2 nights
 12-2008, 3 days.
01-2009, 3 nights
01-2009, 3 nights
 01-2009, 5 nights
03-2009, 3 days
 04-2009, 1 night
04-2009, 5 days
05-2009, 2 nights
06-2009, 5 nights
"> 08-2009, 1 night
08-2009, 4 nights
 08-2009, 28 nights
09-2009, 1 night
09-2009, 1 night
09-2009, 1 night
12-2009, 3 nights
12-2009, 3 nights
 01-2010, 5 nights
02-2010, 2 nights
04-2010, 3 nights
04-2010, 4 nights
08-2010, 21 nights
 08-2010, 2 nights
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08-2010, 3 nights
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09-2010, 3 nights
 10-2010, 4 nights
 12-2010, 4 nights
 01-2011, 2 nights
 03-2011, 6 nights
04-2011, 4 nights
05-2011, 2 nights
05-2011, 3 nights
 07-2011, 1 night
 07-2011, 3 nights
07-2011, 3 nights
08-2011, 2 nights
 08-2011, 2 nights
Surfed:
  
InterestsPolitics, world, natur, organic food, live, ...
PhilosophyBelieve in what you can, help people if you can.Music, Movies, BooksWe are a little bit folky people. New folk like Laïs (www.lais.be), amborzijn (www.ambrozijn.be), Goran Bregovic, Noa, ...Types of People I enjoyYou, I think!
Teach, Learn, ShareI can teach something about organic food. One Amazing Thing I've Seen or DoneThe three days (nights) that we make a baby ;-) The world is a wonderfull thing!Opinion on the CouchSurfing.org ProjectOne of our guests did write this beautifull discription:
" We read the profile carefully, look at the photos, write the request and emails. We are excited to meet these people we've read about. And then you are there, in their homes... their laughter is around you and the children are sitting in your lap and you are sharing meals and laundry and dishes and games and stories. And now there is a real connection. So much more than the profile and photos and typed words. "
We are members since early 2008: we still love it.Locations TraveledTRAVELED: Austria, Czech Republic, Dominican Republic, France, Germany, Hungary, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Poland, Switzerland
LIVED: Belgium
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 (100)98Positive 2Neutral 0Negative
15From Hosts 42From Surfers 6Traveling
 From Michelle van Dijk Rotterdam, Netherlands
Oct 24, 2011  Positive We had a great time with Alwin, Kristin and the boys. A great couch and great company. The kids loved playing together. Special thanks to Alwin for the tips to have fun with kids in Antwerpen and special thanks to Kristin for telling those stories about Antwerpen, the kids loved it, you had their full attention... and they're still enthusiastic about the whole trip.
My first couch-trip and I had so much fun. Thanks!!
 From Cécile et Bienvenu Bourdarias Obela Abzac, France
Sep 3, 2011  Positive Indeed, we did not meet in reality but we do not hesitate to give them the keys to the house in our absence because we really trust by reading their profile and list their experience!
We found a whole row house, and small gifts that made us very happy!
During their stay at home, we were traveling under the signs of précious stones by our hosts (it was not expected), on our return, there were some on the kitchen table :-) You were a little with us in fact ;-)
Some of our friends have met in real life and we have had good feedback!
See you soon!
 From Lou Syllebranque Coutras, France
Sep 3, 2011 Positive a pleasure to spend those moments with all of you, and happy that you enjoyed your stay in Abzac !
 From Catherine Blanchard Libourne, France
Sep 2, 2011 Positive Repas très agréable, grandes discussions, les enfants ont joué ensemble.
 From Ta-Tiana Boich Moscow, Russia
Aug 15, 2011 Positive They introduced us into the way couch-surfing works, I liked the atmosphere in their home very much. Sander, the oldest son, was so helpful and responsible as a guide in his home-town and even in Antwerp. Kristin and Alwin are very hospitable and made us feel at home immediately even though they were really busy fixing the roof of their house. We played a traditional belgian game and uno and made friends with another their guest. They gave us a lift to our next host's house. I'll keep their Welcome (written in Russian and Serbian) poster for memory).
 From Duncan Mortimer Brisbane, Australia
Jul 31, 2011 Positive Staying with Alwin and Kristin was our first surfing experience, and it couldn't have been better. They were friendly, inviting, generous, interesting and interested!
Unfortunately, we only got to meet one of the kids (Hi Aaron :) ), but had an absolute ball learning Flemish from him and his collection of story books.
Thanks so much for making our stay in Belgium so memorable, and I hope we meet again in some future adventure.
 From Raphaël Dimoian Moscow, Russia
Jul 27, 2011  Positive Alwin and his family are a very progressive, health- and nature-friendly family with beautiful souls (particularly their 3 fantastic little boys!), great neighbors, located in the unsuspectedly interesting little town of Berlaar. They represent what one would expect from an educated, environmentally-friendly and sensitive CS family full of character.
(You must see Kristin's hand-made marimba! And you absolutely must ask the kids to sing for you - they love it, too!)
 From Kay Cheung Groningen, Netherlands
Jul 6, 2011 Positive don't hesitate to send a coach requesr to Alwin if you love kids and want a cozy and simple living. Alwin and Kristin are super nice and they made organic meals! And the kids are very very cute! The kids took me to the farm to see sheeps and bees( they are friends of the owner) and the owner showed me around and had the homemade Apple juice. Its super fresh and fruity!
And I went to a playground with Alwin and the kids. He had a lot of good conversations about life, familiy, politics... and culture etc. He showed me how they enjoyed life and inspired me to start my new life in Groningen. Well , thanks Joland. Now I can count 1 to 10 in Dutch! Hope to see you guys again!
 From VIALS_OF_MARCH Seattle, United States
May 28, 2011 Positive The amount of effort Alwin, Kristen, and his family put into the couch surfing is tremendous. Families and couples will always benifit fom a lengthy visit to them, and the beautiful city of Belair they live in. To experience anothers life, one so well orchestrated but simply serene, was left with only the regret in leaving. Always will try to keep in touch, and the hope will be to come back one day, or to host them in another country.
 From Ian McHarg Athens, United States
May 22, 2011 Positive It was a great surfing experience with the Jacobs. They live a happy and satisfied life together, and it's impossible to not walk away from the family feeling better about the world. On top of all of the great moments shared with the family itself, Alwin is a CS master, and happily gave us a ton of advice and hints to use as we continued to surf. Thanks for the fantastic experience!
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Poland- Family Welcome Group
Family Welcome Group
Aquitaine
