afrika burns: part 1

Friday, with a car full of 1 cowboy hat, 2 jars of peanut butter, 3 loafs of bread, 4 blankets, 5 girls, and 6 gallons of water, we set off for Afrika Burn(s?) (which is based on Burning Man in Nevada).

This is their mission statement:
“Our intention is to generate society that connects each individual to his or her creative powers, to participation in community, to the larger realm of civic life, and to the even greater world of nature that exists beyond society”.

What we understood: The idea is that a bunch of people camp out in the desert and provide everything for their own survival. Nothing is bought or sold for the duration their stay (Thursday to Tuesday). Things are only gifted with no expectation for anything in return. There are costumes and art installations and tents and parties. The last day, this big wooden sculpture of a man is burned…

So really we had no idea what to expect. Our anticipation only grew on our 5-hour drive—especially since there was so much dust from the desert that we couldn’t see anything in the road ahead or behind us.

Upon sunset, we realized that one of our tires was shredded, our other tire was flat and we didn’t know how to change the tire, or have an extra spare (anyone surprised?). So we became stranded on the side of the road in the middle of the desert. Every time a car passed (all going to Afrika Burn because there was literally nothing else in sight) a fresh blanket of dust covered us. Luckily every other car that passed us stopped. And everyone who stopped was beyond helpful and kind. Coming to Afrika Burn, they were all in the community-mindset of sharing, giving, and trusting strangers. A mindset that we quickly took on as well. As a New Yorker, it was pretty alarming. This is when we realized we were no longer in Kansas (or Cape Town).