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Memories and Advice
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-Poster: "Jason Taylor" <jasotaylor@msn.comGold
Key is the term we use that refers to loaner garb present at events so that new people can
have stuff to wear and still be trying to fit in. In order to keep this garb from walking
away, as well as help identify new people, this garb has a gold key embroidered,
appliqued, or otherwise sewn onto the garment. The only time I've seen Gold key really get
used much at all is at Black Rose Ball because the URI students want to come in and see
what's going on. I haven't seen it at other events, but I haven't really looked,
either.-Jake deTwelfoaks
"You know you're in the SCA when you strike up a conversation with new people because
the Gold-Key garb they're wearing used to be your best court garb"
-Poster: "David M. Swan" <swan@fox.nstn.ca Friends,I'm watching the moon disappear. The sky up here in Ruantallan is crystal clear, and the eclipse is progressing: the night moves from the dazzle of the full moon upon the new snow (a field of diamonds) to the darkness where stars rule the sky. I am put to mind of an eclipse, years ago, where we were gathered around Cooper's Lake in the warmth of a Pennsylvania summer. As the moon finally disappeared into shadow, a great sursuration rolled about the thousands of us who were witness to the theft of the moon from the sky.How I cherish that memory.-Henry
What was your first SCA experience like?
-Poster: "Crystal Glynn" <catalanadellaq@hotmail.com I had come across the SCA in my teens and again in my 20's, but didn't have time to explore it. Three years ago I went to a Ren Faire with a friend whose parents had a shop. I had a good time, but it wasn't very participatory -- somehow the SCA popped into my mind. I spent 2 months on the net investigating it -- reading lists, etc. before I worked up the courage to go to a Baronial meeting. Luckily, the place I was playing was a large and active Barony with weekly meetings -- I say that because I think it is much easier to meet and get to know people in the context of meetings and get togethers than full blown events. Let me explain. First off, this particular Barony's weekly meetings tend to have between 30 and 100 people present. Walking in was scary -- period. However, the way I was handled has to qualify as one of the best receptions of a new person I've heard of. I walked right up to the first friendly face I saw and introduced myself as new. That person promptly took me over to the group's Chatelaine. She had me fill in a card (so I could get three months of the group's newsletter free) and gave me a little spiel on the SCA. She asked me a lot of questions about why I came and what I was interested in. She also made me promise that I would come at least three times before I decided whether I was truly interested or not. After 20 minutes or so, she passed me off to the Baroness, who spent 10 or so minutes with me, and introduced me to those who stopped by, who then passed me off to the Baron, who did the same, who then passed me off to a Laurel, who did the same, and so on and so on down the line. You can see how wonderful this system was. No one was required to spend their entire evening with me, but within an hour and a half, I had met some *notable citizens* who could be resources for me. If I was interested in gard (and most newbies by necessity are to some extent), I knew who to speak with, same with fencing, and volunteering, and C&I. By then the dancing had started, and between the dance master and two long time SCAdians I was invited to dance for nearly as long as I wished. Because of my schedule, I went to weekly meetings for over three months before I finally went to an event. By then, I knew generally how things worked, and knew a lot of people. However, even with the great effort people made on my behalf, I still had a *not so good* time at my first event. I ran into some impolite people, I didn't know a lot of people. I didn't really have a space to relax and hang out in. You know the feeling-- it was overwhelming. What made a difference was that I had all those good times at weekly meetings to offset my *not so good* experience, so I kept coming back. I'm not sure how you encourage this kind of courtesy to strangers. It is a combination of top down - the B&B went out of their way to welcome all newcomers, and at a meeting it is easier to spot people new to the area, and a bottom up approach -- the Barony drilled it into everyone's head that every person in the Barony is a Deputy Chatelaine and expected to act like one, no excuses of shyness,etc. I think it is, in great part, a combination of acculturation and expectations-- but over the long term, not impossible for any group to reach. -Catalana
-Poster: IsuDuValle@aol.com My first real experience in the SCA was Pennsic two years ago. I have to admit that I am an experienced reenactor who has been doing 18th and 19th century stuff for 19 years. I had some notions of what to expect but no real clue as to what was going to happen. I had been taken under friends wings for this experience and was "shown the ropes" and then left to my own devices to explore. I must admit that I had a blast. I would have never learned what I have learnd if it had not been for Baroness Megan of Stonemarche. She allowed me to attend her during all the courts and she explained everything to me and answered all my questions no matter how odd they were. Because of my friends and the Baroness, I have not lost my wonder and awe of this hobby. I have also learned a valueable lesson because of this, if you bring a friend into this hobby, you must take the time to explaine things to them and be available to answer anything that they want to know. Thanks for letting me put my 2cents worth in. -In Service, Isabeau Du Valle
-Poster: "Tim Habart" <okennut@mediaone.net I was with a friend of mine, she was in the SCA and I thought to give it a try. I went to my first event and had no money, no garb, no food, no tent and no booze. I was welcomed so happily that I got a girlfriend, and all the food I wanted, booze every night, went home with my first set of garb, and the greatest collection of friends in the world? - :-) Oken
-Poster: "Jason Taylor" <jasotaylor@msn.com> Let's see now...NSTIW... *I remember pestering this guy Liam about a camping event going on just south of the RI border. My then girlfriend, now wife, and another friend arrived with modern camping gear, right down to the hiker's backpack and pup-tent/earth-zit. *I remember getting scolded by someone about sparring w/ quarterstaffs with my friend near where we were camped, because the fighting looked fun, but we were new and didn't know how to get involved. *I remember eating the feast off of our modern Mess Kit, and the server for our table nearly burning herself as she dished our soup into the aluminum bowls. *I remember listening to the story about the slaying of the dragon we were feasting on, and sitting next to Bevin who told us about the Tuchux. *I remember the dancing after the feast, and the flirting my girlfriend, now wife, didn't exactly appreciate. *I remember the next morning on the archery range, borrowing a bow from Edward the Grey and shooting to my heart's content ('til we had to pack and leave) That first DragonFlight that we attended pretty well hooked us on the SCA. Our next two event were Spring SimpleFare and the S&M, I mean MudWar, I mean Great Northeastern War. Had we not had such a good time at DragonFlight, the MudWar probably would have been the end of our SCA "career". - Jake "not-so-new-anymore" deTwelfoaks
-Poster: Selena J Kaplan <selenada@juno.com> My first event was the first Birka. I was the one serving lunch to three hundred people. I was with friends and they said, hey can you stand here for a minute? -Selena
-Poster: Jody Livingston <jkjelley@juno.com> I got started in the SCA because my 14 year old brother tricked me into going to an event. OK, I was pretty gullible to actually go, but he told me to trust him. What he said was, Take one of the costumes from the production of Lion in Winter that I was working on, and go to Balboa Park. Find the Lawn Bowling area, and on the far side is a break in the trees, walk thru that, and you will find what you have always been looking for. And I DID! I came out of that path and saw an list field surrounded by pavilions, and I thought it was the most beautiful thing I had ever seen. I walked over to the list field to watch what the were doing, but more importantly to listen to what people were saying. I went into it like an anthropologist, wanting to fool the natives into thinking I was one of them. I very quickly realized that no one was using their real name, so I thought I'd name myself after my chemistry lab partner, Mercedes. That and the fact that I had just recently read The Count of Monte Cristo. By mid-afternoon, someone finally came over and asked me to volunteer to participate in an auction to raise money for the Barony. I smiled and said yes. Silly me, they were auctioning off kisses. Well, I plunged in, volunteered to do things, asked if anyone needed any help with things, and generally skated around the edges until I felt the natives took me for one of their own. Then I moved away, and came to the East. And had to start all over again. But I pretty much did the same thing. "oh, do you need any help carrying that? Do you need someone to peel those potatoes? Can I help you lace up that dress so you don't need your elbows to bend the other way?" By the way, one of the events that I will always remember was in Montreal in the mid '80's. I didn't speak a word of French, and very few people spoke English. Nevertheless, they made me feel welcome, and in spite of the language barrier, I had a great time. It's not always our fault that someone didn't have a good time. Sometimes expectations get in the way of fun. You can't see the forest for the trees, or you can't see the dancing for the late feast. -Mercedes de Califia
Good Advice for Newcomers to the SCA
-Poster: "Anne Washburne" <anastasia@ime.net
[Nora Siri Bock (Siri bint Saadia) wrote... Let me give it to you all straight. Being new in the SCA isn't fun. I've spent hours reading files online to learn HOW the SCA operates. I'm still confused. One bunch says "we're not re-enactors," yet another says "we are!" I've waded through THOUSANDS of messages, on mailists and on Rialto, trying to get a sense of who you are.]
Dear Lady - Thank you for sharing your experiences with us. Us 'old-timers' can forget sometimes how harsh being new, an without a mentor, can be. I'm going to say some things now, some of which might come off as 'blame the newbie'. I apologize in advance for that. But I have to give you the best advice I can - which is, basically, don't listen to any of us. I'm sometimes starteled (although I shouldn't be surprised) at how many people find the SCA, or try to understand the SCA, by reading newsgroups and searching us out on-line. While newsgroups and websites are good basic communication tools, and they can be useful **first** points of contact, they do not in any way substitute for actually _experiencing_ the SCA. (A dear friend of mine once made this comparison - trying to understand the SCA by reading about the SCA is like trying to understand sexual intercourse by reading about sexual intercourse - you'll understand the mechanics, but until you actually experience it a number of times you won't really "get" it.) My best advice to those who are new: use on-line sources for a minimum of factual information - nothing more. Use it to find out how to build garb, to look at pictures, to get directions and to ask specific questions. Everything else is opinion. Our recent conversations about officers, et al, should be proof of that (I've been tempted for several days to think that the responses on this list to the "first event" article would be enough to drive me away from the SCA, were I new. But I've avoided that temptation. Until now.) My experience, to date, has been mixed. <<snip>> Some folks are nice; some are curmudgeons. (hides an ironic laugh). Nora, you're not alone. I've been active for over ten years and this could describe my experience as well. Actually, this could describe our experiences almost anywhere. Such is the way of the world. Tibicen posted a link from her "new person's guide to Legends of Chivalry" a bit ago, and I hope she'll allow me to quote from it: "The SCA is disproportionately filled with shy people. It may not look like that, but that is because most of these people know one another already. They can become tongue-tied and uncomfortable talking to strangers. That means you. Generally, a sure-fire way to strike up a conversation with anyone in the Society is to ask them about what they're into: ask an archer about archery, a musician about music, etc. Then you won't be able to get them to shut up. And the longer you listen and the more questions you ask, the more they'll like you. Really. A pretty universal characteristic of Scadians is their great glee at talking about their favorite obsessions." I think this might be the "truest" thing I've heard said about the Society in long time. I'm sure you know that most of the people at Fort Tryon park didn't mean to be rude. They were just wrapped up in doing their own thing, perhaps to shy to actually converse with you, or perhaps just having lost sight of what they were trying to do at a public demo - which is, after all, interact with the public. But I'm also sure that knowing this doesn't help much or make you feel better. The best - and only - advice I ever give to new folks (other than not to believe what we **say** we are but rather observe what we are actually **doing**) is get involved - and don't get involved alone. First, get involved in a 'mentor' relationship. With a real person, not via email. This could mean that you find a person who is more experienced than you in the weird ways of the SCA and use them for a mentor. It could also mean that you find or recruit someone who is **less** experienced than you in the weird ways of the SCA and you become their mentor. In both cases however, the affect is the same - you become - are actually kind of forced - to become less of an observer and more of a learner and a participant. (Think of Jane Goodall - at first she tried to observe her primate communes simply by watching and staying out of the way, but over time she learned that the only way to actually **understand** them was to become somewhat personally involved.) Second, you and your 'mentoring partner' need to go out and meet people. Go to local meetings. Go to practices and participate or hang around. Go to events - and either volunteer at them or make an effort to become personally, physically involved in some other way (dancing, playing a game, shooting a bow, etc.) People join the SCA for lots of different reasons, and not all of us are here because of our deep abiding love for history. Some join for the social activity (think of those young men and women at the demo - I'll bet you dollars to doughnuts that most of those young men had never been able to converse so freely with young women showing so - er - much of themselves before). Some for the sports aspect. Some join as a way to become something they can never be in their 'real' life (gas-station-attendant-becomes-King). The trick is to find the sub-group that has joined for the same reasons you joined, and become friends with them. Good luck. Keep talking to people. Don't mind the rude ones. Keep asking questions. -Anastasia
B&B = Baron and Baroness
Chatelaine = person who welcomes newcomers; media relations
person; first contact
C&I = Calligraphy and Illumination
Great Northeastern War = originally called the S&M war (long story-email me) it is often very muddy.
Laurel = A member of
list field = field where the fighting takes place
quarterstaffs = lengths of rattan used for combat not unlike
"Friar Tuck" used in Robin Hood
NSTIW = " No S--T There I Was"
pavilions = medieval/rennaisance period tents
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