belldancers, border cops, boats, etc...
So last weekend I had a fun filled weekend. Myself and four other girls took a road trip down to Seattle for a belly dancing work shop. It was amazing. The work shop was put on by the Ultra Gypsy Dance Troupe from San Francisco. I am still sore!
http://www.ultragypsy.com
These girls can shake it like nobodies business and I highly suggest you check 'em out on Youtube.
Any way, the trip was quite the adventure in itself. My belly dance teacher drove me and 3 other girls down in her VW Van, quite the comfy ride. We left Firday night and the ferry ride when off without a hitch, but... the border crossing... not so much, thanks to yours truly.
We had to leave the VW and come on in as something seemed to be the matter when they swiped my passport. It turns out that someone also named Sara Cosgrove was a 'very bad girl" in Ontario. So of course, many questions were asked, including multiple "Are you sure you have never been arresteds?" and a grill of my weight, eye colour etc. My saving grace apparently was that I have a different middle name and a VERY different weight. Seeing as I have never been past Alberta in Canada and never even been given so much as a speeding ticket, I was a little confused. For some reason I was getting verrrry nervous and totally stalled on my own middle name. Thankfully the guy was pretty nice and said in the end "Remember your middle name, it will save you every time". So now I am supe curious who my name-twin is and what ba-girl thing they did. Oooh.
Anyways, the trip continued, we were going to be staying that night at a total stranger's house. Our dance teacher, Candace, had hooked up a place to say with a dance teacher in Seattle named Tayeesa. Her and her husband were the most generous, friendliest people ever. We slept on air matresses in her little dance studio and in the morning her husband, Harvey, made us the most delicious custom omelettes (everyone had different and he even made a tofu stir fry for the vegan in our group) and Tayeesa made us the best home made latte's I have ever tasted!
Here are some pictures from our event, Tayeesa is the tall tattooed blonde:
http://www.harmonybellydance.com/index.php?pageid=6
The driver is Candace, my dance teacher (she is wearing a pink half top in the dance pictures). The knitting girl is Laura from our class; Tona (short dirty blonde bob) is my friend and fellow dancer and Jennifer (wearing a red tank top in dance pictures) is the last of our group.
After the workshops that day we went to a show called "Legends of Orient Dance" which was ok and a few of the dances were the Ultra Gypsies, but the real fun was the after party at this bar in downtown Seattle called ToST (Toast). The Ultra Gypsies had a full show, it was amazing and those girls are sooo hot. Think Suicide Girls with amazing muscle control and dancing talent. The music was so good. It was by this guy called SoulSalaam who could turn ANYTHING into an awesome belly-danceable tune with kick ass beats. He did a lot of M.I.A. remixes which made me happy. LOVED HIM! Unfortunately, anything I found online of him paled in comparison so I am keeping my eyes peeled for more of his live shows!
We decided, to save money and what not, that we would drive back right after the after party. We got terribly lost which was hilarious to most of us but I think frustrating the hell out of Candace. By the time we got over the border (no problems there) and at the ferry terminal, it was just after 6 so we just slept until Victoria. AWESOME trip, can't wait for another....
http://www.ultragypsy.com
These girls can shake it like nobodies business and I highly suggest you check 'em out on Youtube.
Any way, the trip was quite the adventure in itself. My belly dance teacher drove me and 3 other girls down in her VW Van, quite the comfy ride. We left Firday night and the ferry ride when off without a hitch, but... the border crossing... not so much, thanks to yours truly.
We had to leave the VW and come on in as something seemed to be the matter when they swiped my passport. It turns out that someone also named Sara Cosgrove was a 'very bad girl" in Ontario. So of course, many questions were asked, including multiple "Are you sure you have never been arresteds?" and a grill of my weight, eye colour etc. My saving grace apparently was that I have a different middle name and a VERY different weight. Seeing as I have never been past Alberta in Canada and never even been given so much as a speeding ticket, I was a little confused. For some reason I was getting verrrry nervous and totally stalled on my own middle name. Thankfully the guy was pretty nice and said in the end "Remember your middle name, it will save you every time". So now I am supe curious who my name-twin is and what ba-girl thing they did. Oooh.
Anyways, the trip continued, we were going to be staying that night at a total stranger's house. Our dance teacher, Candace, had hooked up a place to say with a dance teacher in Seattle named Tayeesa. Her and her husband were the most generous, friendliest people ever. We slept on air matresses in her little dance studio and in the morning her husband, Harvey, made us the most delicious custom omelettes (everyone had different and he even made a tofu stir fry for the vegan in our group) and Tayeesa made us the best home made latte's I have ever tasted!
Here are some pictures from our event, Tayeesa is the tall tattooed blonde:
http://www.harmonybellydance.com/index.php?pageid=6
The driver is Candace, my dance teacher (she is wearing a pink half top in the dance pictures). The knitting girl is Laura from our class; Tona (short dirty blonde bob) is my friend and fellow dancer and Jennifer (wearing a red tank top in dance pictures) is the last of our group.
After the workshops that day we went to a show called "Legends of Orient Dance" which was ok and a few of the dances were the Ultra Gypsies, but the real fun was the after party at this bar in downtown Seattle called ToST (Toast). The Ultra Gypsies had a full show, it was amazing and those girls are sooo hot. Think Suicide Girls with amazing muscle control and dancing talent. The music was so good. It was by this guy called SoulSalaam who could turn ANYTHING into an awesome belly-danceable tune with kick ass beats. He did a lot of M.I.A. remixes which made me happy. LOVED HIM! Unfortunately, anything I found online of him paled in comparison so I am keeping my eyes peeled for more of his live shows!
We decided, to save money and what not, that we would drive back right after the after party. We got terribly lost which was hilarious to most of us but I think frustrating the hell out of Candace. By the time we got over the border (no problems there) and at the ferry terminal, it was just after 6 so we just slept until Victoria. AWESOME trip, can't wait for another....