Let me tell you a little story about how change affected my summer of 2012. My original plans were to go back to teaching at my same University in Saudi Arabia. I had a great school year teaching from 2011-2012, and the company had asked me to return the following year. This was all good, and I started making plans for my summer. I was going to spend some time back in Hawaii to visit friends and apply for the proper work visa to return to Saudi Arabia. Then I planned on renting a car in Vancouver, Canada and touring the west coast of the USA, heading south then eventually east through Las Vegas to then arrive in Colorado to spend time with my family. I would then return to Saudi on September 1 to begin teaching another year. Then June came. My contract was up and my company was not able to secure a contract with the University before all the teachers left. So plans changed. I arrived to Hawaii, and decided that I could still do the road trip while I hunted for a job. After a few interviews, I landed a job in the city I wanted to be in near the water in Saudi Arabia, and as a bonus I was going to have access to the Aramco Compound. Its basically like a military base without the military. They have a private beach, cinema, women drive, and overall its a westernized city in Saudi. I signed the contracts and was ready. The thing was they wanted me back July 1st! This meant no road trip, and that I needed to head straight to Colorado for some family time before I returned. A week later I was on a flight. So once I arrived to Colorado and visited all my family, I emailed the company to ask a few questions about my departure. There response was that the company had to move the start date til September 1st. Not what I wanted to hear, but instead I looked into toys to play with on my extended vacation, since I now had my full summer back again. I bought a Kawasaki KLR 650 Enduro bike and decided to do that road trip afterall. I knew I had my Masters degree program starting in late August so I figured i should return in time for that and enough time to pack for my job starting September 1st. 4427 miles, and 33 days later ( you can read my road trip blog in a previous blog post ) I returned to Colorado.
Upon my return, my brother and father were in preperation to go to Burning Man ( can read my previous post on that). They had one extra ticket. We had planned that 2012 would be the year that my dad and his two sons would all go to Burning Man, but they had not been able to get tickets until the very last minute. Now they had one extra ticket, and I had a choice to make. I wouldn't be back til september 4th, and my job was due to start September 1st. So an hour before they departed I emailed my company and decided that if they could push the start date two months, that I could push it 4 days more. They said that it was okay. After a short discussion with my parents about what happens if I come back and the job is no longer available I packed my bags in 22 minutes and off we went! After an epic week at Burning Man I returned home hoping to see an e-ticket in my inbox. None was to be found. I promptly contacted the company and was told that they were having trouble acquiring the visas and that they don't know how long it may take. They also ended by saying it may be smart to look for aother job. They then offered me a position in the capital city of Saudi Arabia, Riyadh. They even tried to sales pitch it to me. I've been there, and really the capital is landlocked with a desert 4 hours in every direction. Thats a far cry from a beach town with a park on the water and a Starbucks where all the motorcycle riders hang out and chat. This isn't the best news after the main hiring season has already passed and schools have already started teaching September 1st. So I quickly got online and started sending out resumes again. After a few days I had offers lined up in Oman, Czech Republic, Slovakia, Riyadh ( capital of Saudi, but much better job than previous one), and in Thailand. I was really hoping for Oman since it is greener than Saudi Arabia, and is much closer to Dubai. The problem was that Oman wanted their teachers to have Masters Degree's, of which I did not. Luckily in the end they needed teachers bad enough that they offered me a position. I gladly accepted!
This summer has been an unstoppable whirlwind of changing events and all I could do was just enjoy the ride. In the end, I went to Hawaii, I did my motorcycle road trip, I went to Burning Man, and I got my job of choice in Oman. Everything fell into place PERFECTLY. I honestly couldn't have asked for it to have gone any better. I don't know how or why my life is so great, but man is it incredible. Thank you to all my friends and family that help mentally and emotionally support me along the way. I know some of you think I'm crazy, but I love and appreciate everyone that is in my life. You all make it special, and worth living! At the time of writing this, I will be boarding a plane in about 5 hours to embark upon my next journey. I'm excited. I believe it will be my 26th country to see in our awesome world. Adventure awaits! So how are you living out your dream life, and what are you doing to improve the lives of others?
Burning Man 2012, Black Rock City, Nevada, USA
Population: ~60,000
Where to begin? Well first of all I was due to start a new job teaching English in Saudi Arabia September 1, 2012. My brother and father and I had talked about going to Burning Man together some year and this was the year that it could possibly work. It could, until we werent able to get any tickets. No tickets and my new job starting right in the middle of when Burning Man was supposed to be were two problems that wouldn't allow the Watchman men to partake in this amazing event. That was until the moment that tickets became available, there was one extra ticket for myself, and the decision to contact my future employer and tell them I would be 4 days late was made. The decision to go literally happened 25 minutes before we departed. Luckily I can live off very minimal stuff in even the harshest desert conditions so I packed in 22 minutes and said LETS GO!
So the drive began. I will attempt to explain Burning Man in details that will allow you to somewhat understand it, but I will also tell you now that there is a feeling being there that no words can describe. When you first arrive there are long lines of cars and you slowly creep along the sandy roads. The dust being kicked up from thousands of tires gets so bad at times that you can barely see the vehicle ten feet in front of you. All you can see is their tail lights. If they decide they cant safely move on then you all just stop in place and let the sand blow on through. This is your first taste of how bad the sand storms can get. This is also the time that you may get your first taste of the craziness and nudity that can be experienced at BM ( Burning Man ). People get tired of sitting in their cars and the fun begins. Simple as that. If you are a first timer to BM, AKA a VIRGIN! , you may be called out of your vehicle to get your initiation spanking. This is all before you even reach the gates to get in.
Once you're inside the experience is multiplied X1000! People slowly trickle in and find where they want to camp on the designated roads. My 60 year old father jumped out of the van en route to finding our camp just to dance with some robots. Sounds crazy, but it happened! ( watch the video for proof ) Its been dark for a few hours by this point, and you start to see huge art pieces illuminated with colorful lights all across the landscape. That and art mobiles driving around the outer roads shooting flames into the air and playing music for anyone that wants to jump on board for a free ride and free party upon arrival. Once our sleeping arrangements were set up, a tent and sleeping bag, we all set off to explore "the playa". This is where everything happens. It's the inner core circle filled with art mobiles, art pieces, people riding bicycles, and probably the only place you will see a neon light space shuttle casually drive by with barely anyone taking notice. An hour of looking around was enough to get your mind swimming in the possibilities of what may come of the week. Maybe it's like the first time taking drugs? It makes you wonder what will happen when you get more of that good feeling? I'm not sure since I have never tried, but I can safely assume its the feeling of wanting more of that little bit you had. After a bike ride around the playa, and after a few to many falls off their bike due to mishandling of the pregame drinks, we all went back to camp to start the next day fresh.
The first morning of sunlight you start to get an understanding of just how big this festival is going to be. People start milling around, and more people keep flowing in through the front gates. The first 2-3 days are still sort of like set up days. People from all over come and add to the festival. This is a great time to start to explore what all the camps have to offer, have an afternoon nap, and then head out at night again for the mysterious lit up world of BM at night. It takes on an entirely different feeling at night. It's a mixture of Alice in Wonderland, TRON, and some huge party in some hidden club in Prague. Every day is the same rotation. Explore the camps in the daytime to see what they are offering to the event, such as hair washing, pancakes, massages, juggling lessons, and every other possible thing you could imagine, then at some point you take a nap, then you head out all night to be mesmerized by the lights, music, art cars, and the people of the night!
The event lasts ten long days. The first few days are spent exploring whats new and whats old at this years BM. There is tons of excitement, new discoveries, new loves, new friends, and one night stands for the truly open minded peoples. The days and nights in the middle of the ten days seem to slow down a bit. You have more time to start to explore the thousands of camps for things that really interest you, rather than roaming around aimlessly. This is really when you find quality time with new friends, in my case family time, and time to really explore your inner self in some of the many workshops that you can join in on. The initial excitement wears off, and you really find a calmness in yourself. You may even find out that you haven't been this dirty in quite some time and that you actually enjoy it. The simplicity of taking wet towel baths in the back of a small u haul cubicle trailer is oddly quite nice. The last few days of the event start to really become electrifying. Most of the 60,000 people have arrived and the entire playa is crawling with weird, whacky, crazy, and "normal" people. You can find kids running around as well as 70 year old men that oddly seem to think that their birthday suit is the "must have" outfit for BM. I personally think it may just be one last ditch effort to find a suitable partner. It basically says, " here's what i got, take it or leave it." When the sun decides to exit the horizon and give way to the moon the playa just comes alive! All the parties are redlining. All the art cars are slowly cruising around blasting dance music for anyone that cares to jump on and dance to. All the art projects have been assembled, and any anger that may have built up inside of you can be easily dispelled in the Thunderdome! Straight out of Mad Max, you can battle head to head with each other on bungees with "soft" weapons to attack each other. So during this entire time you will experience many personal emotions. You will "find" yourself in many ways. You will have a better understanding of the generosity of people, and the goodness people are born with. You will give tons of hugs to people just because it feels nice. You will gain a new perspective on life, and hopefully you will take that out into the "default" world, as the veteran burners refer to the everyday world.
The last days of BM are probably the most special to most of its participants. The reason is that throughout the week you have been finding yourself. You create new perceptions about life, in general, and now at the end is the time to release all the negative burdens that may be holding you back in life. I know this may sound cheesy, but BM is really like a personal life journey all accumulated into ten days. The last couple days they burn all the artwork. Some of these pieces have been worked on all year and are simply beautiful, but nothing is spared. BM is about letting go of physical attachments to materialistic things and finding strength in yourself and your community. We can only truly be happy when we are happy by ourselves, alone. It seems as though the burning of the art is a release for many people of everything that weighs them down. All the negative things are carried up into the sky, off their weight bearing shoulders, up up and away with the ashes and embers that float away high into the dust filled sky. The main "man" is burned and for many this is the end. For many others the end is the next day when the temple is burned. Many people may be religious or spiritual and the site of the temple being burned holds more significance to them than it did for me.
After everyone completed their night, I drove my dad and brother out of this amazing community, buried deep in the desert, back to the "default" world that we had left just ten days before. It was only fitting that we arrived in the dark, and left in the dark, much like I imagine time traveling through different galaxies would be like. It was a long drive back, but still it was not enough time to fully process everything that had happened during those ten days.
The main difference about BM and any other festival is that every camp is expected to contribute to the overall festival. This means that people don't just go there expecting to be entertained, but in turn go there expecting to bear there share of the entertainment, and actually be an integral part of the event itself. The second part of BM is that once you are inside, everything is free. Camps offer free hair washing stations, pancakes for breakfast, body washes, educational classes on thousands of topics, s'mores, alcohol, hugs....EVERYTHING! This is what allows the generosity in people to shine through. The goodness in all of the people there is so overwhelming that you can't help but want to give back to the BM community as well.
One major thing that I learned out of the whole experience was that my life is absolutely incredible.Seeing all the positiveness reassured me in my beliefs that all people are good, but sometimes circumstances turn us in the wrong direction. Given the right environment anybody can be good. The only unfortunate part of BM to me was that many of the people that I spoke to couldn't wait for the next BM because of how they are treated here and how everybody is so friendly. I was disappointed that so few people had the capacity to take their same giving mentality back into the "default" world. Why does it have to stop when you exit this beautiful community called Burning Man? Why must they have "decompression" parties to get them back into that giving mentality? The reason I say that I realized how special my everyday life is, is because I realized that my life is just like Burning Man every day of the year. I am continually amazed by seeing new things, meeting new people, being honored with the goodness and love of complete strangers, giving to those that need it more than I do, and making my best efforts to have a positive impact on this world that we live in. I love every aspect of my life from my job, to my students, to my friends, and to all the experiences that have made me who I am today. I wish everyone could say the same, but many people are unwilling to make that change in their life. I hope this blog helps lead them in the right direction.
In the end, BM is something everyone should experience at least once in their lifetime. It is a great model of how to treat people on an everyday basis. Take what you learn and apply it to the real world, or shall i say "default" world. Rumors will tell you that BM is full of sex, drugs, debauchery, and indecent conduct. This is true, if this is what you are looking for you will find it. On the other hand, if you want to explore yourself and test your boundaries with what you are comfortable with physically and emotionally then this place is also for you. Experience it for yourself. You owe it to yourself to explore what our world has to offer. Don't just listen to the rumors. If i had listened to rumors I wouldn't have come to the Middle East, which in turn gave me the opportunity to spend an unimaginable time at Burning Man 2012 with my father and brother. Really, the kindness and love of these people in the Middle East heavily outweighs the few terrorists. Think about that.
Here's the video of my experience at Burning Man....It was all but a dream....and to dream a dream is a wonderful thing...
Enjoy. I hope you can go someday. It's unbelieveable. The video doesn't even come close to showing 1% of Burning Man...
Let me tell you a little story about how change affected my summer of 2012. My original plans were to go back to teaching at my same University in Saudi Arabia. I had a great school year teaching from 2011-2012, and the company had asked me to return the following year. This was all good, and I started making plans for my summer. I was going to spend some time back in Hawaii to visit friends and apply for the proper work visa to return to Saudi Arabia. Then I planned on renting a car in Vancouver, Canada and touring the west coast of the USA, heading south then eventually east through Las Vegas to then arrive in Colorado to spend time with my family. I would then return to Saudi on September 1 to begin teaching another year. Then June came. My contract was up and my company was not able to secure a contract with the University before all the teachers left. So plans changed.
