Twenty-Four

This is my last night of being 24 years old. The other day, a song named "What's So Bad?" by a band called Motive came up in the shuffle on my iPod. I had forgotten about the song. The only reason I had bought it several months ago was because it is about being 24--and I'm 24. But that won't apply tomorrow.

This got me thinking, though, about songs that talk about age and about getting older. So I'm going to share a few, in chronological order (kind of).


Frank Sinatra--It Was a Very Good Year

I first heard this song on some TV show when I was probably about 8. I thought it was absolutely hauntingly beautiful.




Five For Fighting--100 Years

I was about 15 years old when this song (about being 15) came out. I remember watching Channel 1 at school every morning. There was an anti-drinking ad that asked, where will you be in a year? In five? In 10? I remember counting the years on my fingers, thinking about how old and where I'd be. Interesting that that 10 years has past.




Bright Eyes--Landlocked Blues

I discovered Bright Eyes sometime towards the beginning of my time in college. This song--and it's line about being 22--was in a playlist I would play almost every night.




Motive--What's So Bad?

...which I bought because I was 24. 

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Zum, zum, zum

M., the six-year-old in the family I'm staying with, taught me a hand game. I'm pretty sure the rhyme goes like this:

Zum, zum, zum
de la juventud
te acompañará
a decir la verdad
por la cola, cola, cola
por la Coca Cola
por la Coca Cola

Man-Eaters

Already a couple of weeks ago, I went on an adventure that I've been meaning to write about. The Spanish school where I'm taking classes arranged for those who wanted to go take some canoes through some mangroves*.

We all got on a bus, and our first stop was for a nice lunch by a beautiful beach.

 Then we walked through the little village where the bus dropped us off, and got in some canoes.

 And then we were off!

I don't think I was the only one who thought we were going to be paddling the canoes. Turns out the guides were in charge of that, and used poles to push us along Venetian-style.

The mangroves were beautiful. We saw some little crabs, anchovies, and lots of different birds along the way (the water where the mangroves grow is sea water, not fresh water). It all made me feel very adventuresome and nature-y.








*I've always thought the word "mangrove" was actually really funny. I think it should mean something like what I chose for the title. I don't think it actually does, though. 

I looked out the window, and what did I see?

A photo from the car--driving across town to pick up graduation robes for J. (married to one of the sons of the people I'm living with).

From a window of the apartment M., from Holland, is staying in. She's in the old part of Cartagena. So many of the buildings in the old part of Cartagena are built in the Spanish style, with a courtyard in the middle (like you can see here).

This is in front of the house I'm staying in. The girl next door had a HUGE 7th birthday party on Saturday. Later that night, the neighbors down the street threw a graduation party. The chairs are for their party. Delivered by horse.