Observations on first timers.

[dj_john69]

We had over 10 virgins in our camp this year and they all did wondeful !! Such a fun time watching newbies roaming the Playa for the 1st time.

[Tiger Lily]

[quote="dj_john69"]We had over 10 virgins in our camp this year and they all did wondeful !! Such a fun time watching newbies roaming the Playa for the 1st time.[/quote]

Yay!

[skygod]

Noobs are like little cabbages: so cute and full of promise!

[Tiger Lily]

[quote="skygod"]Noobs are like little cabbages: so cute and full of promise![/quote]

thats such an adorable quote. ill have to remember that one!

[mars]

I agree. A newbie cabbage this year, is an amazing new salad next year!

[CapSmashy]

So if you toss a bunch a newbie cabbage in a pile and add some mayo, do you get Noobslaw?

har har har.... sorry.


I was another of the shockingly over prepared virgins this year. I probably spent the better part of 9 months prepping for the event and combining that prep work with my previous experience of "big camping" from my SCA days. I was reading everything I could find, ingesting and cataloging stories of veteran burners, etc to help tweak my packing list.

I hooked up with the Booby Bar/Terminal City crew about 5 months out and was damn glad I did. Being a part of an active theme camp "confederation" and the dynamic mix of people among the camps was a tremendous help in transitioning what I had read about into the reality that was exploding around me. I know I would have had a great experience without Terminal City and probably have gotten out to see and do a lot more and meet more people, but I would not trade one second of this year's experience for the world.

I knew I was doing it at least close to right when several people expressed surprise at my first timer status. Of course, that illusion was totally shattered when I saw the next cool, bright shiny thing on the horizon.

Ah well, I am hooked now. Next yearitis has set in hard and fast and I am having to reign in a lot of the creative juices that are pouring forth from my head. Tiki God art car, steampunk... YES!

[ibdave]

I knew I was doing it at least close to right when several people expressed surprise at my first timer status.

How Quickly the young Cabbage forgets about tearing one's tent during set -up......


But your set up did rock......

[Burp!]

My first year was in 96, we didn't have no stinking survival guide, and we liked it that way. No one died, cept for the guy on the motorcycle and maybe some of those people that got ran over in their tent.

All the instructions you needed were on the ticket "You take your own life into your hands, Burning Man is dangerous, don't explode!" something like that.

The following year when I came out of my coma I made sure I brought water.

T

[Tiger Lily]

[quote="Burp!"]My first year was in 96, we didn't have no stinking survival guide, and we liked it that way. No one died, cept for the guy on the motorcycle and maybe some of those people that got ran over in their tent.

All the instructions you needed were on the ticket "You take your own life into your hands, Burning Man is dangerous, don't explode!" something like that.

The following year when I came out of my coma I made sure I brought water.

T[/quote]

your hardcore man.

[falk]

... We told her not to the leave the car until she had the read the survival guide, and also told her to how to avoid/deal with Playa foot, which the guide doesn't address.

Good call. Friends brought a virgin on early arrival to help set up. Sweet young thing was walking around barefoot and looked like she intended to spend the entire two weeks that way. "Ummm, haven't you been warned about playa foot?" "Oh, yeah, my mom warned me about it." "Well you didn't listen to her. Get some moisturizer, some socks, and some shoes right now."

Pointed out that she would see a lot of naked women wandering around, except they would have good footwear on. There's a reason for that.

[CapSmashy]

How Quickly the young Cabbage forgets about tearing one's tent during set -up......


But your set up did rock......

Thanks Dave.

Actually, in retrospect, blowing out the ridge pole on the tent was probably for the best. I had a lot more room with just the carport set up and after tarping it off on the day side, it stayed sleepable until around 9:30ish. I have some tweaks already planned to make it even darker and stay cooler for next year.

[falk]

Luckily I was proclaimed adorable for that

I'm inclined to agree, and it's not just your photo, I swear.

[trypical]

This year was my first year. I worked my little ass off preparing, sewing costumes, getting my supplies. I came home with 20 gallons of water that our camp did not use. I also came home with a weeks worth of food for myself and all my trash.
I was appalled by the number of people I saw who were not prepared. look at me, I am already jaded and I only went once HA!

See you next year! :wink:

[DeusRegit]

(this is a reply to Mars' posting 10 posts back)

Thanks MARS... that is a good description of newbie awareness. And your recollection of how they evolved shows that it was the true spirit of the original Burners that not only encouraged you to give them a welcome mat each day but also allowed them to learn by doing (even if they didn't read the manual.)
I was a newbie this year, and apparently like many other first-timers, I set up camp on the outer-most block (actually 7:00 and Kelp Forest.)
Although I did realize I would be just as welcome in the inner-streets, it is just my nature to ease into things from the back wall first time around.
Next year, because of people like you, I will be eager to join the ranks of the welcoming spirit that is Burning Man.

http://entertainment.webshots.com/album/560677628KgQiZp

[HughMungus]

Anyone on these boards who came to BRC with no veteran advice?

Yes. My first year. But I met and talked to veterans when I got there. The best advice they gave me was to stay even though my ride left early (they weren't into it). So glad I did.

[fromMA]

Just a post BM episode that summed up the whole event for me. We had to leave Sunday to wash and clean the RV, get rid of rubbish etc in order to make our flight. By late Monday we were all finished with a whole case of water left over. Not wanting to waste it, we offered it to various individuals who declined. We had dinner at the hotel and went back to the RV for one last attempt to give away the water. Parked next to us was an RV that was obviously on the Playa......even an idiot like me can see playa dust caked on and know that the occupants may be Burners. We see 6 people headed towards the RV; 2 older people in their late 60's, a middle aged couple and a young couple. I tentatively ask if they were at BM and immediately we get a huge smile from all with an affirmative answer. It turns out the older couple is from Lafayette, CA and the younger from the UK. We chat for a while about the weeks experiences and as we say our goodbyes ask if they'd like the water. The older woman says she could use it for an earthquake stash. She asks what she can pay for it and of course we say its a gift. She says she feels as though they should pay something and I suggest a hug. Well the hugs go all around smiles, laughs follow........maybe you had to be there but it was love all around. The middle aged man had a T shirt with an interesting design on the front and the BM logo and 2007 on the back. My wife mentions that she likes the shirt. Immediately, without a thought he takes it off and gifts it to her. Once again, there are hugs, laughs and smiles all around. What a great way to end a great week. You really feel a bond with other burners that is hard to explain. Cant wait for next year.What a "feel good" experience. We will never see these people again but we belong to the same "family" This was our first, but not last, year and was a wonderful way to end a wonderful week.

[duke of weimar]

:P a second thank you to MARS for the great description of some of this years noobs. i was a noob this year and felt very fortunate to have had supplies left over to offer to neighbors when we left early Sunday. another huge thanks to all of the burners before me who kept this thing going for folks like me!! :lol:

[Valkyrie]

This was my first year (as many folks around here probably know!) I tend to have a bit different view on preparation than it sounds like most folks have here: I like to be spontaneous and keep my options open. However, I've discovered that if you don't have your bases covered in advance then you'll be stuck doing the "catch up" from unpreparedness (work! ugh!) and will miss out on a lot of spontaneity. The more you know, the less actual work you have to do.

All of the bad advice I received, that led to a lot of unhappiness and frustration, came from experienced burners. I was told by a fellow I'd dated who had been many years that I'd have a great time if I went and camped myself. y'know, without a camp. I think that's the worst, but it's not the only bad advice. One burner told me I didn't need a water bottle to carry around. (And every time I ran into him on the Playa he had none!) I was told that ziploc bags were anal and not worth your time. (Boy am I glad I ignored THAT advice. Dust in my undies is not something I relish.)

When I found myself giving advice on how to deal with the effects of playa on the hands (small leap from the foot, eh?) to someone who had been there 6 years and really had his stuff together, I realized that the survival guide and common sense went further than any advice. Friends are good, and the playa is more forgiving than it seems when you're surrounded by thousands of people.

I honestly believe that a lot of the unpreparedness that's being attributed to new burners can actually land on the shoulders of people who have been there before and should rightly know better. Of course, the way things work out there, it's easy to get what you need as others around you pick up your slack, so some folks never learn.

[bohemian dawntreader]

I got a few chuckles and head pat the night the man burnt early. I went over with a group of experienced burners I had just met to watch and asked "So do they burn the man every night?"

Luckily I was proclaimed adorable for that and not made fun of and they continued to come find me almost everyday ^_^

Makes me smile to remember that XD

That is funny

[bohemian dawntreader]

I was a well-prepared virgin as well

[Alchemy]

Noobs need to earn theyre burn
and fucking study up on how to burn!
Kinder garden rules in a kinder burner pool
READ THE MANual and
join the big kids at the big kids table!

[actiongrl]

Great to read about new folks and their impressions of the preparation materials that are available. If you have ideas on things you wish you had heard, let us know!

It is worth noting that not everyone gets the dreaded "Playa foot". Some folks are totally unaffected. Weird, huh? My sweetie runs around in flip flops for days and nary a crack on his feet. Ugh! Me I loathe the feeling of dusty toes, so I've never had my boots off long enough out there to learn whether or not it has that effect on my skin. Blech. I'll go for a whole week without more than a baby wipe shower out there, but I gotta wash my hands and keep my feet out of the dust.

Any of you get the newbie postcard that we sent out? Did it help?

[mars]

I have always been afraid of playa foot, but this year I broke my toenail and couldn't wear the shoes I brought to the playa. So I wore flip flops all day everyday and didn't get a drop of playa foot.

[mars]

Ah-ha! "Broke my toenail" sounds really funny, compared to what it was...actually I bent the big one halfway back and it was a bloody mess!

[Simon of the Playa]

my first year was 96'....we brought a walk-in closet full of clothes and even the goddamn spice rack from the kitchen...i almost hired sherpas.


we used 1/10th of the shit...bring only what you need and want to have, all else has a high moop potential, if not plain dead weight.

my biggest problem with the newbs and maybe some lifers as well is the idiocy of going out at night unlit...

in 2006, and 2007, my girlfriend had to leash me, as i would chase DarkWads and attempt to bite them...


woof.

[mars]

Well you aught to have a great time then this year, Simon! Last year the mooon was full...this year the playa will be dark dark dark!

[theCryptofishist]

in 2006, and 2007, my girlfriend had to leash me, as i would chase DarkWads and attempt to bite them...

the way I heard it, you begged her to leash you.

[CdnChick]

My first burn was 04. My bf and I went completely alone.

We tried to go with a theme camp, but they were only going to allot us 10x10ft, and we were camping in a costco carport, so it didn't work out. We didn't know this until about 1 week before leaving.

So we were totally over-prepared, and made it one piece. We weren't sure where to go, so we drove near 6:00 and saw a big spot. We asked the guy nearby if the spot was taken, and he said "Yes, we've been saving it for you!" Turns out we camped completely by accident right next to Happy Camp, who we love.

They started our stay out the right way - with open arms.

[Misti]

This will be my first year going and im glad to hear that many before me have worried about things I am worrrying over now. My boyfriend and I are going alone and this is the first thing we have done on our own out of state.

I have read survival guides and clicked on anything I could click, but I am still finding links that lead to the main BM page full of suff I didnt find the first few times. My internet favorites has a burningman folder now and there is several pages of links that I had to keep, I have found the limit on how many times you can "open in new window" before the computer has a nervous breakdown, I have a paper list of items to remember, and two "notepad" documents full of more links and misc. thoughts,... I hope I will over pack, rather than be unprepared.

Yet I still imagine us driving around and not finding a place to camp or setting up in the wrong place or with the wrong people. There is two feelings im picking up from my research so far and Im wondering which is more prevalant. The people that are willing to welcome and teach or the people that would put us all in a noob camp like a leper colony to figure it all out on our own.

I am hoping I can get most of my questions out and answered on the board before I get there, hoping that I wont look like I have a stamp that says NOOB on my forehead.

At least we will have lights, so we wont have a noob stamp and a bite mark.

[blyslv]

"It's not Burningman without snacks and beer!"