#Frankfurt689

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#Frankfurt689

many thanks to Hannah for the pictures

 

We met on the roof terrace of the Skyline Plaza in Frankfurt am Main.
It was one of the hottest days of the summer and there was only one corner with shade during the meet-up,
which got smaller and smaller as time went on, forcing us closer together.
In addition, Chipotle was having problems with the amount of orders,
as this was more business than they had made in the entire month!

 

my pictures from that day

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#London689

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#London689

subscribers and their videos

Your pics

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What #Europe689 Taught Me

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What #Europe689 Taught Me

#Europe 689. The trip of Will and RJ from shep689 through Europe. How was it for me?

Well, I had brought lots of books with me. My Kindle was full of new stuff but guess what? I didn’t read a single sentence. There was so much to think about, so many impressions to relive, so many conversations to ponder over that I neither felt the desire nor the time to read.

But I was listening to music all the time. My #Europe689 has a playlist. It’s the music that we listened to in bars and clubs. The songs mean something to me. They help to remember certain moments, special conversations, people’s faces and voices.

Every meetup was different. Every city felt different. But one thing was the same. The instant we left a city I immediatley started to miss the people. I couldn’t get enough of them. At one point I wasn’t interested in sights anymore because the people got much more important. The more cities we hit, the longer was my list. People who had been just faces a day ago had become friends. They all had a story to tell and they all made the trip colorful and unique.

At the Amsterdam meetup I met Manuela who is a filmmaker from the project "Lifeboat". They are giving people a voice who suffer from HIV. But it’s even more than that. It’s about people who feel that they don’t “belong”. We messaged later and Manuela decribed the meetup like this: “I was so struck by the meetup and how people from different backgrounds, different ages, different sexual orientations all came together in the most amazing, gentle, open spirit. It was mind blowing.” I couldn’t have put it any better, Manuela.

The trip changed me. I can even pinpoint the minute the transition started. I opened up. Layer after layer peeled off and each new day I felt more comfortable in my skin and in front of the shep689 camera. It was a mixture of feeling accepted, being among like-minded people and pride. And after the trip my environment noticed the difference in me. Not only did I radiate an apologetic happiness, it finally felt so easy to talk about my sexual orientation. And I talked about the people that I’ve met. All the time. To everyone.

I’m an advocate and an activist. And it took me a while to realize this. #Europe689 taught me that it’s the people who are important. And #Europe689 taught me as well that I have a voice and from now on I plan to use it. Those of you who have been at one of the meetups. What’s your impression? How was it for you?

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