GET ADDICTED

To Spanish. We’ve all gone through that. We start learning a foreign language bursting with enthusiasm but, after a few months, we give it all up. Paradoxically, giving up is one of the more persistent actions in our lives. Let’s face it: things such as eating healthy, running regularly, studying maths, tidying up our house, etc., are awfully discouraging… unless you get addicted to it.

Learning a language could be exciting by itself, and that would be enough. But a language is not just a language: it also involves a culture, a journey (physical or armchair tourism, we like them both), the discovery of new music, cinema, gastronomy, friends… And this immersion is obviously addictive. Therefore, to keep up with your Spanish, find your Spanish / South American passion. We all have one. Here are some tempting ideas:

1. Visit Oviedo or Cádiz regularly.
2. Read the amazing short stories by Jorge Luis Borges.
3. Try and do some Spanish recipes (salmorejo might be a good starting point).
4. Tell your friends you followed your recipe in Spanish (no need to be totally honest here).
5. Get thrilled by Astor Piazzolla and his incredibly intense tango.
6. Join tango dancing classes.
7. Feel attracted to your Peruvian dancing partner at the first class.
8. Read some books by Vargas Llosa or, even better, Julio Ramón Rybeiro, so you can impress him/her.

If these suggestions are not good enough, surely you can find another Spanish connection to keep you hooked: films, music, literature, sports, hobbies, friends… Find it, and it’s done. You will have got started.