well, actually i’m back. i’ve been back almost two weeks. my trip went so incredibly fast it was unbelievable.
when i got back our mac was to the brim with so many files that i had to seriously clear off the desktop before i could download any pictures from my trip! suffice it to say, i’m a little backlogged. look for a whole slew of posts coming right up!
but anyway, don’t let this pics fool you. the south isn’t so bad….
In my class on Friday I asked the girls which of the dancers I showed them (I showed them videos of dancers from the 1940’s to the 1990’s), and one of them said “Fifi” and I knew my work was done…
After years of deliberation and a few failed attempts, I finally decided to join the blogging community and create what you see today—gatormade. My intent is to keep family, friends, and everyone else in the loop of what type of crafty things I’m working on at any given moment, and that could be anything—I have creative A.D.D—but also, any cool dance / music videos, or new gadgets I’m interested in, and maybe even the occasional political rant
So why the name? Well, this is only confusing if you don’t know me. My close friends and particularly my hubby Sami call me ‘gator’ or ‘gators’ or ‘baby gators’ and well, this blog is mostly about the stuff I made or am in the process of making.
This week I’m not actually making anything, but hopefully encouraging and inspiring 10 teenage girls to learn more about Egyptian belly dance (UGH!!! I hate that term!!! So from here on out it’s ‘Raqs Sharqi’…), and about the music and dancers who inspire me. I’m teaching at GYV (Global Youth Village), a camp located in Bedford, Virginia which brings teens from all across the world together to learn about each others cultures, build leadership skills, work on issues such as conflict resolution, developing dialog, etc., in addition, the camp also offers workshops and electives on global music and dance.
Monday was my first class and I was really nervous, as I never know what to expect from a workshop where I don’t know the students already. Of course I was mostly just hopeful that they enjoyed the class, and I felt like they did, but teenagers can be hard to read.
The same evening after dinner we had a ‘gathering’ where anyone who is moved to do so can give thanks for something and/or someone that day, and one of the girls thanked me for my class! That was really sweet. 
I sat in on the Monday morning global music class. Sami and Anne Elise were teaching. Here are a few pictures:
Anne Elise is one of Sami’s longtime friends and amazing qanun player, like seriously good. They were in the middle of teaching them Ma Alli wu Ultelu, a song performed originally by Farid el Atrash and Samia Gamal. If you came to our Zikrayat show at CUNY this past spring, you saw Sami and I performing it!
More from GYV later…