Karaoke Kid- Aussie Style

Leave it to me to make it to a karaoke semi-final competition by accident.

The whole school staff went to dinner last night. Neat little place that used to be a dive but got totally remodeled. The restaurant closed at 9pm and we weren't all ready to leave so we made our way into the front area. And there was karaoke. And one of the teachers wanted someone to sing with her. And I agreed to sing and recruit more singers. We chose Sweet Caroline (ironic?). Then the Karaoke organizer lost our slip and let someone else sing it before us. So we had to change the song. Being a kind person, I let the other teachers choose: Dancing Queen by ABBA. Not really in my singing range, but there were going to be heaps more people singing, so no big deal.

They call us, and three of us get up to sing. Sweet. That's okay. One of the teachers announces that we're from Kotara South School. Great. I hand out the other microphone and they both look at me and say "We're just your backup dancers." Not cool. I had to sing alone. And they were backup dancers. And boy, did they dance. And I did a terrible job singing, partially because I was laughing so hard at my backup dancers. So we endure, the song ends, I run off stage. Oh well, not too embarrassing because it's not like I'll ever see any of the other people at the bar ever again, right? WRONG.

At lunch today, there's a call to the office. One of my backup dancers answers it. She comes back crying, she was laughing so hard. There was a competition going on last night. We made it through to the semi-finals. We have to go back on June 27th and compete again. "No way Ester. You're not funny." "Jess, I wouldn't joke about something as ridiculous as this."

So my bad singing and their dancing was a hit. They're talking about making costumes and choreographing for the semi's. Too bad I'll still be around to compete. Maybe I can hop an early flight home? If the prize is good enough, I may do it. Maybe we could win a karaoke machine for the school??

I've got some photos to post of our competition. You'll be able to see what we were up against. I should have them up by the end of the week.

Cheers!

Photos

http://picasaweb.google.com/JessicaMFried/

Here's the link to my photos again. I hope no one else is having problems accessing it!

Happy Memorial Day Weekend :)

Kelly Clarkson Down Under?

So Australia Channel 7 has a show. "It Takes Two." Think dancing with the stars, only singing. Famous Australian singers match up with celebrities to sing and compete for charity. This week, Anthony Caella (Australian Idol's runner up last year) and his partner sang Kelly Clarkson (American Idol winner from..forever ago)'s hit "Because of You." I almost died laughing. They didn't get sent home either! The public here must like Kelly too!!

People who have twins in Australia Part 2:

• Sarah Schumaker
• Lindsay Williamson
• Erin Mullan
• Adam Templer
• Joe Mauer

Music I came all the way to Australia to listen to:

• Bon Jovi
• Aerosmith
• The Killers
• White Snake
• Neil Diamond
• Pink
  

Sandra has been cooking a lot. I've got Vegetable Lasagna, Risotto, soup and spinach dip coming out my ears. It is all sitting in the fridge waiting to be eaten. My stomach can't keep up with her cooking! I love it :) She's also a bit particular about letting things go bad so if I don't manage to eat it all in a "reasonable" time, she will throw it away before I get the chance. I may have to hide it in the freezer and give myself some more time.

No plans for this weekend. Lucie and I are going sit down and book our tours for our trip to the Blue Mountains. We leave on my birthday!! We are definitely going to see the Jenolan Caves and the Three Sisters.

I am still looking for a toe ring too! I don't know if I mentioned it but I lost mine the first weekend. It is somewhere off the coast of Nelson Bay. Maybe I'll find one there.

That's all for now. I need to iron our some kinks in my brief overview of major world religions. Today didn't quite go as I planned. That's part of the fun though. Trying out new things and making them better. Part of becoming a better teacher too :)

That's all for now.

Cheers!
love, jessica

Sydney!

All my photos have been updated. Some of you may have already checked them.

I was in Sydney the weekend of Mother's Day. We left Newcastle right after school and got on the triain to the city. Luckily, our hostel was just around the corner from Central Train Station so we didn't have far to walk. Me, Lucie and Anthony shared a dorm with two guys from England. They were on a trip around the world and had just come from Hawaii. We went out to dinner with them on friday and had a good time comparing US, UK, and Aussie English.

Saturday was the day Lucie and I climbed the Sydney Harbour Bridge. It took three hours and the view from the top was amazing. Because the bridge is in use (duh) no one is allowed to bring up anything (like cameras). My sunnies were attached to my body with a rope, my had was attached, as was the sweat bandana too. So while I don't have photos from the bridge, they took a group photo that we all got. The bridge took 8 years to build, there are more than six million rivets keeping it together, and of the six people who died while building it, only one actually fell off the bridge (the others were in the steel mills or on the ground).

Saturday night we went to the only Casino in New South Wales to see "Priscilla Queen of the Desert." The show was funny, had a great soundtrack, and is based on a famous movie. Think "To Wong Foo, Thanks for everything. Love, Julie Numar".

Sunday we spent at Manley Beach. Gorgeous weather. Wonderful beaches, great food, nice shops. I have started a charm bracelet. Pandora is a Dutch company and I love it. We'll see how many charms I can afford while I'm here. I started with a dolphin (fitting, don't you think?) and we'll see what else I get!

That's all for now. It's been a hard week at school. I'm glad the weekend is here.

Love and miss you all!

Quick update

I know it's been a while. I've been busy. I'm taking over almost all of the morning teaching and half of the afternons twice a week. Workload has increased. I'm teaching Literacy and HSIE(Social Sciences).

I've got new photos but haven't got them on my site yet. Hopefully tonight. I'll try my best. Tuesday was a month before my birthday. Missy Higgins (musician, piano and guitar) is touring for her new album and was in town here. I tried to get tickets when I first got here and they were sold out (except for obscured view). So as the concert date came closer I started looking for people selling them and Sandra and Jason gave me a great ticket to the show! Their friends Nikki and Brian were going to the show so I got a ride with them. It was awesome. There's some video if it will download. I loved it.

We're off to Sydney this weekend. Activiites include: Harbor Bridge Climb, "Priscilla the Desert Queen", and some market that people keep saying but I have no idea what the word is so I can't help you until I get back and will know more then.

Love you all!
--Jessica