All Roads Lead to Rainbow!

I'm getting ready to head to the Rainbow Gathering near Steamboat Springs, CO. This will be my second Gathering (first was in CA, 2004) and I'm so excited that it's hard to concentrate on all the work I need to get done before I leave! I was looking through my travel journal from the 2004 Gathering and came upon a couple of lists I made that I thought would be fun to share. So here goes...

Rainbow Lingo
The Rainbow Gathering has its own language, so here's what I learned at my first Gathering:

• Everyone = Brothers & Sisters
• Candy = ZuZus
• Cops are coming! = 6-UP!
• Toilet = Shitter
• I agree = Ho!
• Peace-keeper = Shanti Sena
• First Aid = CALM (Center for Alternative Living Medicine)
• Greeting = Welcome Home!
• Donations = Green Energy (in the Magic Hat)
• Asking for a smoke-out = Fishing or Needing a Plumber
• Dishes = Blissware
• Babylon = regular society outside of Rainbow

What to Bring
There are a few things I wish I had at the first Gathering, and a few things I was really glad I brought, so I made a list of stuff to bring next time:

• Tarp & rope (to make a shelter from the hot sun)
• Poncho for the cold nights
• Beanie (my head got cold, luckily I traded for one)
• Lots of tea
• Magnifying Glass
• Cart to haul stuff into camp
• Head lamp
• Drums
• Food to donate to kitchens
• A camelback to keep water handy
• Biodegradable soap
• Garbage bags to sort out recycleables & trash
• SUNSCREEN
• First Aid kit with Ace bandages (would've come in handy when we were the first ones to show up to help a kid who broke his leg on the mountain!)
• A smile and an open mind

Lessons Learned
Finally, I thought I'd share some of the things the Rainbow Gathering taught me. It really changed my life!

• Vegan & Vegetarian food is DAMN GOOD, even when eaten out of a dusty bowl and served out of a 10 gallon bucket. Actually the Rainbow Gathering is what convinced me to finally go vegetarian, and I haven't eaten meat since. It was way easier than I thought and Rainbow showed me how good veggie food could be.
• People are inherently good.
• Home is where the family is, where your heart is, and you may not know where it is until you're there.
• We don't need money, an alternative way of living is possible and the barter system works.
• Volunteering is one of the most rewarding experiences you could have.
• Love is everywhere, we've just forgotten how to express it and seek it.
• When people work together, anything is possible.
• The power of collective focus & prayer is palpable.
• Dogs off-leash are bad news! (My pooch was attacked by 2 unleashed pitbulls at once, not pretty.)
• We need to respect the land and each other, it's something we've forgotten how to do in Babylon.
• Collective consciousness and action is our only hope for changing the world.
• If everyone smells, you don't notice how badly you need a shower.
• Everyone needs to get back in touch with nature, and with each other.

Hope to see you at the Colorado Gathering! :)