Never mind the usual I will cut down on my drinking or get more exercise and lose weight, New Year’s resolutions. Try one or more of the ten we have listed below, and it will help improve your life in Spain.

Learn to speak more Spanish

If you don’t consider yourself an accomplished Spanish speaker make 2021 the year, you intend to get better. Buy a book, do an online course, or watch more Spanish television. Try and learn a new phrase or word every day to add to your vocabulary.

Learn to eat like a Spaniard

Spanish food is some of the world’s healthiest, as we are sure you have found out by eating tapas and dining out. For the year 2021, set yourself a target of learning to cook at least one Spanish recipe a month. Start with fabada Asturiana a hearty, warming white bean stew with lots of ham hock goodness; it’s easy to cook and perfect for a cold day.

Learn to play padel

Hugely popular in Spain padel is part tennis and part squash played on a fenced-in half-sized tennis court. Padel is a fun game that will not only improve your fitness but help you meet other people. 

Walk the Camino de Santiago

 Called “The way of Saint James” in English, the Camino de Santiago was one of the most important pilgrimages during the Middle Ages. Starting in France, the route winds its way across the Pyrenees before ending at Santiago de Compostela in Galicia in northwestern Spain. Because the pilgrimage is 500 miles long, many people choose to walk a small part of it each year.

Learn to do something typically Spanish

Make 2021 the year you immerse yourself in Spanish life by learning to do something unique to Spain. It could be learning how to flamenco dance or how to play a classical guitar. Travel to the Rioja wine region and become a tempranillo expert or learn the fine art of how to slice Jamón correctly.

Go to a Spanish fiesta

While we have the wonderful Moors and Cristianos fiesta here in Alcoy, other areas of Spain have fiesta’s unique to them. Fiesta time is, as anyone who lives in Spain knows, a time when the locals get together and party. Ones to consider are Pamplona’s San Fermin (running of the bulls) or Seville’s Feria, a week of serious dancing, drinking, eating.

Read Don Quixote

Regarded as one of the best all-time books, Cervantes’ Don Quixote of La Mancha is a must-read classic about a genius/fool on a personal crusade to bring back chivalry. Yes, it might be quite long, but it is a fun read never-the-less and will give you a step up on Spaniards who have never read it.