I want to try them

This is actually really great to know! Will do!

Not only has nothing changed, I think we’ve actually doubled down

Have you checked out ogunquit? I’m not queer so I can’t really speak to the scene/vibe there, but a lot of my LGBTQ+ friends like it there- I really can’t give an opinion either way so YMMV

Oof, this brings back a memory. In college I was volunteering with a family who really only spoke my second language, which I was still learning at the time. One day, I was helping the kids with their homework, and their mom had friends over- they kept saying one phrase kinda frequently and laughing, so my idiot ass thought it was a joke! (I had a co volunteer with me too, so she’s also culpable in this.)

Next morning, we walk into class and our professor was looking like his usual jovial self so I told him this “joke,” and his face, just, fell. We weren’t suppose to speak in English in this class, but he switched to it specifically to tell me to never say it again.

Guys. I had called my wonderful, kind, gentle (literally my favorite) professor some kind of a little bitch. This was in Arabic, and swears hit way different in Arabic. When I finally got around to asking the TA about it, I was absolutely mortified.