On "Gay or Hipster?"

I like art and music.  As such, I often find myself in places full of hipsters.  As such, when I'm at a concert, or an art show, or even just out with friends, if I see a well-dressed, reasonably attractive guy, I'm confronted with a question -- is he gay or just a hipster?  (This is not, of course, to mean that the two are mutually-exclusive.)  As such, I've decided to give you, my darling readers, a list of possible ways to tell the difference.

• If he's wearing a bow-tie:
• And looks like Doctor Who or a lumberjack: hipster.
• And looks like Blaine Anderson: probably gay.
• If he compliments your taste in music: probably a hipster.
• UNLESS it's Lady Gaga, Cher, or Madonna, in which case, probably gay.
• If he admits to appreciating Carly Rae Jepsen un-ironically: either gay or a frat boy, but definitely not a hipster
• If he's at a museum:
• With his mother: avoid at all costs.
• With his girlfriend: hipster (and likely whipped)
• With his boyfriend: gay (duh)
• If he's wearing a "SOME __ MARRY ___.  GET OVER IT." t-shirt: gay.  Or just awesome.  Or both.

And now that I've offended a good number of people, we'll end this list.  Feel free to email or comment with more ways to tell the difference, and make the lives of single girls who are attracted to well-dressed men everywhere easier.  Because in a world of Neil Patrick Harrises, Matt Bomers, Tyler Oakleys, and more, we need to stand a fighting chance.

Tune in again for "Nerd or Hipster" when I tell you how to know if that guy in the wolf t-shirt is doing so ironically or because he's a member of a one-man wolfpack.

Best of luck,
Rachel Leigh

Merry Christmas Eve, darling readers!

I hope this post finds you amidst merry and bright days -- and that no matter what you celebrate, you're taking the opportunity to spend time with your family and friends!

Happy Holidays!

Hey!

This not a post, just thought I'd share that we are now entering the final 24 hours of the 2012 Project for Awesome!  It's a 48-hour event on YouTube that raises money for charities which decrease the levels of suck in the world.

You can help out by commenting on P4A videos or donating at the P4A indiegogo page.

Find out more and watch the livestream here: http://dft.ba/p4alive

DFTBA!

On Packing

With three days left of these Nordic winters, the time has come to pack my things and scrub my room spotless for its next inhabitant.  As such, I thought I would provide you all with my brilliant packing tips for when you're moving back to your home country.

1. Throw as much away as possible.  Obviously, don't throw out anything expensive or sentimental, but if you can toss or donate things that you're holding on for no real reason, do it.  Suitcase space is precious.
2. Avoid breakable things.  Failing this, make sure anything which is breakable is nestled softly between as many articles of clothing as possible to lessen the likelihood that it will smash into a million pieces.
3. Throw everything into a suitcase.  Weight limits are for wimps.  By which I mean TOTALLY MIND THE WEIGHT LIMITS FOR YOUR FLIGHTS.  Because having to dump all your crap out at the airport is no one's idea of a fun time.
4. Cry.

Of course I'm not using packing as an excuse to avoid writing my paper, where would you ever get that idea?

On Exam Week: Danish Edition and Eight Days

Well, it's that time of the semester again -- time for my Exam Week post!  Exam Week: Denmark Edition.

It's hard to believe it's already that time of the semester - four months has gone by so fast that it almost makes my head spin.  I've been in five countries, eight cities, and four airports in the last four months.  I've watched the days in Denmark go from never-ending summer nights (no seriously the sun didn't set until like 10 pm) to three hours of daylight (if you're lucky and it isn't overcast).  I've gone to the ballet at the Royal Theatre, a beer tasting at one of only seven Trappist breweries in the world, a party at the EU (although that was kind of a trainwreck because there were issues with wiring and food, whoops), and more.  And I've met some truly amazing people.

Yesterday, someone asked me what my favorite memory of this semester was.  It's a pretty close call.  The single greatest moment, potentially one of the greatest moments of my life, was right before Halloween.  We went to the Halloween village at Tivoli, and there is a ride at Tivoli called the Himmelskibet or Star-Flyer.  It's a really tall swing ride.

It looks kind of like that.

Anyway, it was dark, and we went up on the ride.  When we got to the top, I could see the entire city of Copenhagen, all lit up, and it felt like we were flying over it.  It was absolutely magical.

The other competitor for my favorite memory was sitting in Grand Place is Brussels on our long study tour.  It was our first day there, sunny and warm, and a bunch of groups were picnicking in the square.  We had some time to kill, so we found a Belgian specialty beer shop and a chocolate shop, and grabbed some drinks and chocolate and just sat in the square, enjoying the weather and the wonderful opportunity we had to take a trip with our core class.

It's been amazing to think how this semester has flown by, and while I am really excited to get home to my friends, family, and a phone plan that doesn't charge me 50 cents a text message or decide to sporadically not work, there will be some things I will really miss about Denmark and my time here.  I'm just going to have to work hard to bring the best parts of my time abroad home with me.

Now, I really need to stop procrastinating on working on my international law paper.  Except not really.  Who assigns a paper due Christmas Eve (Heidi, if you somehow find this, you are a wonderful professor and I love your class, but REALLY?)?  Eight days left to pack, study, write, Hobbit, and get in all the sightseeing I still haven't done.

For those my darling readers suffering through Exam Week out there: Good luck, stay sane, and remember that it will be fine (and if it's not, at least it's over).

Procras-Dane-ating,
Rachel Leigh

On the Season

I have been terrible about posting this past month.  I'm sorry, my darling readers.  Between Prague, papers, exams, classes, Thanksgiving, and other such craziness, there just hasn't been a lot of time for it.  Not an excuse, I know.

Happy December!  I had my first (and likely only) traditional Danish Julefrokost (Christmas lunch) yesterday with the other DIS students in my kollegium and our Danish SRA.  Why they call it "lunch" when it starts at like 7 pm is beyond me.  But the food was delicious and the boys did a great job (since the girls took care of Thanksgiving).  They brought a table out into the hallway and it was adorable.

I can't really talk about Julefrokost without talking about alcohol.  Little-known fact - the Danes drink pretty heavily.  Well, actually, if you read Scandinavia and the World (it's a comic), it's actually apparently a very well-known fact in Scandinavia.  But I had no idea before I came to this country.  Anyway, Christmas lunch involves Danish snaps and akvavit, both of which are really strong, and you're drinking all through the meal.  In a country where they release a Christmas and Easter specialty beer, I think it might be safe to say that the only thing the Danes love more than getting cozy with family and friends is an excuse to party.

Friday night my Danish class went to see Tornerose (Sleeping Beauty) at the Royal Theatre, which was absolutely wonderful.  It's hard to wrap my mind around the fact that I'm only here for two more weeks.  I still need to go see the Christmas lights at Tivoli.  And survive finals week.

Tis the season,
Rachel Leigh