Mia Jaap

Wait a minute, that’s the cathedral of Cologne on the QueerBook page! Yes, that’s right. My name is Mia Jaap. I live in Cologne, or, as some people like to say who meet me in Cologne by chance: “I thought you were in Düsseldorf?”

Regardless of the place, my face is often obscured by a camera. I love taking photos and have accompanied this group since April 2022. Before, I was like a silent, shy pallas cat sitting in the background, occasionally peeking what was going on in that WhatsApp group, but not being ready to join the frenzy. Recently, I was taking photos of our group at the pride parades in Düsseldorf and Cologne.

I’m from Hamburg originally and lived for a few years in Tokyo and Seoul. In Asia, I lived in teeny-tiny apartments, indulged myself in Asian food and had much fun at language tests – or rather the karaoke party afterwards. As part of an international expat community, I loved our hangouts.

Returning to Germany in 2013, I had to readjust. I moved to a new city (Cologne), had my public coming out and generally build a new life here. I had a connection to Düsseldorf through work and a close friend. One day, I stumbled upon this group. “International LGBTQ Düsseldorf” – that’s three times awesome, or in one word: awesomesauce!

Many Düsseldays

In one year, I had plenty of great Düsseldays with the Düsselqueers and was guest host for three Düsselcats – one of them, Phoebe, became the star of my photo comic. I’m often at the TGIF, or generally any event giving me an excuse to hop on the train to the Dorf. I also contributed to the ever-growing number of Düsselqueer WhatsApp groups by creating a group for Ga(y)mers. Fancy video games? Join our sub group 🙂

Being a lesbian is part of my identity. My friends know me also as a queen of retro gaming, movie lover and fan of Japan and Korea. Sometimes I blog, sometimes I rock, I am here, I am there. I like traveling, but if there’s one thing I truly feel sorry about, it is the negative effect of my presence to the Düsselqueer’s short term memory. When I say I’m heading back to Cologne, they often reply: “Wait, you aren’t from Düsseldorf?”

미안해!

D(üssel)ictionary:

Düsselday: A well day spent in Düsseldorf

Düsselcat: A cat from Düsseldorf