Newbie Seeking Camp

[bumpkinville1111]

I will be attending the 2012 Burning Man Festival. If anyone would be kind enough to let a newbie join your camp it would be much appreciated. I am a very spirited, hardworking straight male. I will participate and help the camp anyway I can. I will be driving from South Carolina by myself and would like some kind folks to show me the ropes at the 2012 Festival.

[Packoderm]

You can camp with the Endorphins if you like. You have to have a sense of humor to be happy camping with us. We tend to do less than intelligent things for no good reason sometimes, but that's how we like it, and it's really not that bad. We will probably cap our membership at 40 again. It was the perfect number this year. Just send me a PM and I'll put a foot in the door for you, but remember about the sense of humor thing.

[theCryptofishist]

Boilerplate on joining camps. Urge you to consider camping by yourself (you have months to get ready) so you don't get sucked into someone else's agenda. Although, Endorphins won't do that either.

[jkisha]

Hey there, welcome to eplaya!

[tattoogoddess]

Welcome!!!

[Ano]

Just two cents.... my first year, I camped alone, ended up having a massive panic attack/dehydration episode my first night, and then developed the week into the best week of my entire life. It feels good to be out there by yourself without any obligations. Get's a bit tiring to have to deal with other people.

I say - attack it head-on. The solo thing is fun.

[Kriten]

Welcome! Be sure to Bang the digital virgin bell.

[Sic Pup]

I strongly urge you to camp by yourself, do all the research, be prepared and you wont regret it.
I wouldn't do it any other way, apart from being the ultimate expression of self-reliance it allows
you do deal with people on your own terms. The only drama you'll experience is self-inflicted.
Introduce yourself to your neighbors, you'll quickly make new friends and a support group if needed.

I will say if you're intent on joining a camp of people you don't know very well avoid those that actively recruit.
You'll see as time progresses there is no dearth of people looking to join camps. If a camp is actively
recruiting anyone that comes along expressing a desire to join a camp you can be sure there's a damn
good reason. IMO in most cases not one you want anything to do with. Caveat emptor.

[shroom]

Welcome. My first year I also camped alone (with 1 friend). It was so nice to escape into my tent in between exploring the playa. It is really overwhelming at first.

[Raymaker]

we set out, 2 of us, expecting to camp alone, on our approach to the gate we found 6 lost souls who's driver had arrived without a ticket, we had a 16ft truck so we took all their stuff in, they all found other vehicles to ride in on. we told them that we would meet them at 4.15 and Funeral, which did at 4am, some got there before us, we distributed their stuff to the camps some were staying at, luckily not far from the meet point. Only one member didn't get to us that night and although all spots in that area were packed tight we pulled into someone else's camp to get off the road and wait/sleep. They found us at about 10-11am and with 2 others in the group we ended up camping together and became 'fuckingbeautiful camp' for the rest of the week.

we still all did our own thing, so there was so expectation and so drama.

[Packoderm]

I think what he means by those who actively recruit is us Endorphins, and that we basically suck. Since the two years we've been a camp, there have been a few people who've felt that way: him and a nice married couple who pulled up stakes and left before the burn. Maybe it might be better to play it safe and camp with friends or be a solo badass.

[theCryptofishist]

On the off chance that's not a joke, I'm pretty sure that what's meant is those camps who charge large fees and/or those that view you as a source of slave labor. Oh, and high drama camps...

[moonrise]

I think what he means by those who actively recruit is us Endorphins, and that we basically suck. Since the two years we've been a camp, there have been a few people who've felt that way: him and a nice married couple who pulled up stakes and left before the burn. Maybe it might be better to play it safe and camp with friends or be a solo badass.

Plenty of camps actively recruit.

I enjoyed reading the start of Stag Camp and it's success, and the Start and birth of Orphans/Endorphins/Endorphins II.

My first year, I was approached by a few via PM, and did settle in to one I liked (I dealt with some drama, but well worth it. lol)

You'll still want good neighbors/location if you're going to be a solo badass, or truly consider joining a camp, themed or non-themed...sooo many choices!

[Packoderm]

Endorphin is surprisingly drama-free and full of love given all the madness - well, not madness but, ah it's hard to describe. I don't know the story with the couple who left early. I asked them why they were leaving, but I was too buzzed to comprehend and remember the reason.

[Sic Pup]

I think what he means by those who actively recruit is us Endorphins, and that we basically suck.

Wow.... hostile much?

Actually I hold most Orphans in VERY high esteem and have a genuine fondness for them (never forget your first).

The next time I need you to interpret what I mean I'll ask, m'kay?



Don't hold your breath.




On second thought, do.


To OP - I'm sorry you're welcome thread was sullied with this nonsense, I was trying to offer constructive advice. You'll see exactly what I mean once you get the lay of the land. ePlaya has no shortage of opinions but mostly it's some really cool people who are more than happy to help if you've done you're homework. Just utilize the search function first (most tyro questions have already been asked/answered many times over). That's not to discourage you from asking questions, just search first, I'm actually surprised at the number of new topics/angles arise weekly on a fairly limited subject. Welcome.

[Packoderm]

Sic Pup, I liked you when you were in our camp. I liked going to the temple with you and Vitta. I found you to be intelligent - more intelligent than the rest of us most of the time because you never got wasted. All in all, I liked your company, and I like you and your posts on eplaya. But anyhoo, this nonsense, or perceived nonsense anyway, is just the sort of thing a newbie looking for a camp should take into consideration when deciding on joining a camp. My advice is to go ahead and join a camp, but come to the event self reliant enough to not feel you absolutely need to stay with the camp if things are not going how you feel comfortable. Just knowing you are not held captive in a camp might be enough to temper your view of the situation. The members of our camp become quite close to each other. I would do nearly anything on earth for a fellow Endorphin if the person is in need. It is basically a family, but you need to want to be a family member if you want to be a family member, if that makes any sense. It is so easy to fit in regardless of age, level of social skills, etc. Statistically, Endorphin Camp has been a good fit for 97.5% of those who've joined, and it wasn't the other 97.5% of the members who decided whether or not the fit was good.

[jkisha]

You might want to make a distinction between "actively recruiting" and "accepting anyone that comes along". Our camp will actively recruit from time to time, but we are pretty discriminating in those we actually accept.

I will say if you're intent on joining a camp of people you don't know very well avoid those that actively recruit.
You'll see as time progresses there is no dearth of people looking to join camps. If a camp is actively
recruiting anyone that comes along expressing a desire to join a camp you can be sure there's a damn
good reason. IMO in most cases not one you want anything to do with. Caveat emptor.

[mudpuppy000]

There's going to be some degree of drama with any camp you join. It's inevitable when you drop a bunch of people who likely have never met into a wasteland for a week. Take that into account and have a backup/bailout plan so you're not stuck in an environment that is stressing you out.

[Packoderm]

There's going to be some degree of drama with any camp you join. It's inevitable when you drop a bunch of people who likely have never met into a wasteland for a week. Take that into account and have a backup/bailout plan so you're not stuck in an environment that is stressing you out.

+1

[Savannah]

Hi bumpkinville!

Don't mind us, we're still getting re-accustomed to the default world. You have months to decide whether you want . . .

* a theme camp (varying degrees of work + a fee + infrastructure + possibly prestige) . . .
* a non-theme theme camp (like Endorphin Camp or Stag Camp, which emphasize self-reliance + people to hang out with)
* camping solo / with a few other people

You will have immediate neighbors out there anyway, unless you go out of your way not to.

Check the "regionals" link at the top of the main Burning Man site to look for any imminent Decompression parties and to meet Burners in your area. You might be able to participate in a local build.

[theCryptofishist]

There's going to be some degree of drama with any camp you join. It's inevitable when you drop a bunch of people who likely have never met into a wasteland for a week. Take that into account and have a backup/bailout plan so you're not stuck in an environment that is stressing you out.

Piney had an interesting thing to say. I can only paraphrase but it was something about it only being drama if it's repeated.
The thing is that many of us have a bad few hours in a row out there. It's hot, it's dirty, there's no electricity, it's crowded, you're overstimulated. Meltdowns happen. If someone is having a meltdown every other day, that's a problem. If you just get snippy and need to be alone on thursday, that's human, and that's the playa.

[mudpuppy000]

There's going to be some degree of drama with any camp you join. It's inevitable when you drop a bunch of people who likely have never met into a wasteland for a week. Take that into account and have a backup/bailout plan so you're not stuck in an environment that is stressing you out.

Piney had an interesting thing to say. I can only paraphrase but it was something about it only being drama if it's repeated.
The thing is that many of us have a bad few hours in a row out there. It's hot, it's dirty, there's no electricity, it's crowded, you're overstimulated. Meltdowns happen. If someone is having a meltdown every other day, that's a problem. If you just get snippy and need to be alone on thursday, that's human, and that's the playa.

Very true. That's why I like having a personal chill space, so if something is getting under my skin (repeatedly) I'm not stuck in the drama zone.

[lazerfox]

There's going to be some degree of drama with any camp you join. It's inevitable when you drop a bunch of people who likely have never met into a wasteland for a week. Take that into account and have a backup/bailout plan so you're not stuck in an environment that is stressing you out.

Piney had an interesting thing to say. I can only paraphrase but it was something about it only being drama if it's repeated.
The thing is that many of us have a bad few hours in a row out there. It's hot, it's dirty, there's no electricity, it's crowded, you're overstimulated. Meltdowns happen. If someone is having a meltdown every other day, that's a problem. If you just get snippy and need to be alone on thursday, that's human, and that's the playa.

Very true. That's why I like having a personal chill space, so if something is getting under my skin (repeatedly) I'm not stuck in the drama zone.

It was great having our own space but also knowing we could walk over to the shaded area and someone awesome would be there to just chill with and lets not forget the awesome home brewed beers in the cooler

[mudpuppy000]

It was great having our own space but also knowing we could walk over to the shaded area and someone awesome would be there to just chill with and lets not forget the awesome home brewed beers in the cooler

Glad you liked the beer. It was fun seeing everyone's reaction as they tried it.