I enter from the back of the camp, since I can’t find the proper gate, where some people are supposed to be waiting. I ask the first person I see, busy repairing something in their tent. “It’s over there,” they say.
I go in that direction to what I first assumed to be the gate, and ask the man standing there behind some kind of desk. Only later did I understand this was not the gate… But the urinal! That means the guy was casually answering me in that context, and I noticed nothing besides his interesting way of dressing!
Finally, I get to the real gate after asking someone else.
“You’re the only one who entered the gate from this way,” they say.
They then let me get introduced to the rules, all in a good mood. I get to choose my shift: gate, or shitninja. “I’m trying to be a bit of a buddhist, I won’t mind doing the second one,” I said.
As I’m still in the middle of discussions, my friend David shows up. He’s the one who told me about this… particular, event, where nudity is fine, consent important, but most prominently desires are run to their fullest. Thank God I had no needs and knew no suffering at this point… Otherwise who knows what could happen. I’m personally not a fan of promiscuity.
But I digress. Let’s get back out of my mind.
Seeing the camp was quite something, it was superbly decorated, from small words of meaning to small art pieces, lights, and the participants themselves being dressed in glorious outfits! A festival indeed. Everyone here was older than me.
“He’s a virgin,” he said when introducing me to his friends. I protested, only to find out it’s a term they use for those that are new to this kind of events.
I set up my tent, reflecting on all of this. For once, I felt normal, in comparison to these other people, that also dared to express themselves so much. I wasn’t sure what to make of this.
I rejoiced on the happy feeling of camping, the nice memories that came back of the tents of the unthinkable experiment. The smell of fresh air. Of independence in my own tent.
I went for a walk back the way I arrived, enjoying some more sabi under the stars (it seems I’m the only one who came by walking from the station).
