Newby English person with a lot of questions

[Conor_Wookiee]

Hello everyone,
I am from England and hopefully will be at burning man 2020, I've done a fair bit of research but I'm still not sure exactly how much I don't know.
I also have a few questions, the ones about details I will solve if/when I get a ticket but I had some volunteering. As I'm coming from abroad I would like to bring something to gift into the event, the best thing for me probably being volunteering. Probably somewhere with the DPW as I already have experience in advance and set building/carpentry.
Or am I just really jumping the gun and should just come and experience it first.

Any and all advice appreciated

[Dr. Pyro]

My opinion, which doesn't make it correct, is to go once, get a true feeling of the event, and then come back ready to gift whatever you deem is right for you. My first year (and I've gone the last 21 years) I had no idea what to expect and was thoroughly overwhelmed by the experience. But it got me thinking, I created a theme camp (Barbie Death Camp & Wine Bistro), and the rest is history. If you can attach yourself with some other UK burners, that might be a good idea. If they've also gone in the past you can pick their brains for some real-world answers. I l hope that helps somehow.

[Ratty]

Doc is right. Worry about your comfort the first year. Be prepared as possible for the harsh environment. There is a spot at the event called 'Volunteer resource'. The 'V' Spot. You can go there and get a volunteer job. You will be busy, tired and overwhelmed.

Read everything. Connect with local burners if possible. The main burning Man site has lists of events for world wide contacts. Prep is half the fun. Good luck.

[Elderberry]

Hey there, welcome to ePlaya!

^What they said.^

[lucky420]

So it’s easy to say “go once first” if you live relatively close to the event. Since you’re from the motherland, will you be able to go more than once? If not, volunteer for what you feel comfortable with. And yes volunteering is a great gift, you can also volunteer your time and talents to the people in your neighborhood. If you see people building/doing things go over and introduce yourself and ask if they need a hand.

Even if they don’t need your help, people appreciate the offer and it’s a great way to make new friends. And as ratty said the V spot is a great place to find volunteer opps while on playa.

And it is hot and dry here so read up about heat stroke and dehydration. Had a virgin (and he was from this area) get heat stroke/dehydrated, he was actually hallucinating and talking nonsense. It was a bit scary

Hola and hello...

[some seeing eye]

Welcome to ePlaya!

Meet your "burning man regional" now. They are flying in and will have prep details.

Start making your "burning man packing list." Get some experience camping if you don't do that normally.

If you like costumes or outfits in real life, it's never too early to think about that. You need layers of clothing that can flex from 4C to 43C, including at night stepping between them, outside & inside.

Agree with the volunteering comments. You may be jet lagged and you may end up staying up all night or become distracted. The core volunteer departments have schedules people sign up for months in advance, and then dependably show up to. So first year, the casual day of volunteer sign up might be better for first time burners.

One problem that comes up here often is international flight scheduling. Getting from Black Rock City to the airport can have unpredictable delays. It's better to schedule at least a whole day between trying to leave the city and your flight time, and use that opportunity for a good shower and clean clothes. If you can schedule the time, a full week or more pre-the burn or post-the burn has opportunities to see our Western national parks.

[Conor_Wookiee]

Thank you for the advice it was really nice to see so many replies in such a short space of time, even though it's taken the time to respond to this.
Based on your advice I don't think volunteering would be a wise thing to do as I probably didn't mention it but on volunteering at a summer camp prior to the event and travelling before that.
As far as your comments on the "hospitable" nature of Black Rock citys whether I fully expect it (maybe not prepared) but I know to brace myself for it. As a small note, I will work outside and I work in a variety of conditions so the range of temperature isn't so much of an oddity but having it as hot as it could be might be new.
Moving on seeing as you answered my questions fully I'd like to ask two more,
1. Is there a channel or chat that I can be guided towards that is for international people/groups preferably from the UK?
2. Is there any good way to find a group that would be based from San Francisco that I could possibly join up with as it might be nice to have a support network of people?

Thank you for your help and advice.

[some seeing eye]

If you do a search for UK Burning Man Regional, you will find the answer to #1.
That is a much better path to #2 if you don't have real life friends in SF.

You might enjoy our ePlaya one thing a day for Burning Man, all the make an outfit, and the make your burn, don't buy your burn threads.