This time around

Anything you do twice in your lifetime, you should do better the second time, right? With that in mind, I've been thinking about things I'd like to do differently in my second year in Spain. It's not that there was anything wrong with last year, but there is always room for change. I guess you can call these my New Year in Spain Resolutions.

• Take more pictures- I hate coming back from somewhere you may not ever go again and regret not having more pictures. I chose to get a pocket-sized camera so that it can come everywhere with me, but I find myself reluctant to take it out because I don't want to be that tourist. I definitely know the argument that travel is better experienced through your own eyes rather than a camera lens, but I think there is a happy medium, and for me the number of pictures needs to increase.
• Actually study Spanish- Sometimes the day to day use of Spanish isn't enough to really understand exactly where the subjunctive and conditional are used. I've got Practice Makes Perfect: Advanced Spanish Grammar on my Kindle and it's ready for use on the 45 minute train I'll take to work everyday this year. Any other book recommendations are welcome.
• Make more Spanish friends- I loved my community of auxiliars last year, because after all, we're really the only ones who can completely understand each other and what we go through to make life in Spain work. However, more Spanish friends are definitely in order. They will improve my Spanish, help me find more places that locals go, and enrich my life in Spain that much more.
• Travel goals: Morocco, Greece, and Northern Spain- Obviously I still have a million and one places on my to-see list, but these are my top ranked destinations for the coming year. The last year or so Morocco and Greece have been fairly unstable, but things have gotten better.
• Play soccer- I've been playing in a co-ed soccer league with my brothers this summer and had forgotten how much I love it. I played all throughout my childhood, high school, and intramural leagues in college and I really do miss it. I would love to find a league to play in in Málaga.
• Watch soccer- Sadly I never made it to watch any soccer (ahem, football) games last year. I definitely dropped the ball on that one and will be making up for it this year.

But I did go see Real Madrid in Los Angeles this summer

• Blog more- The goal is to appease the masses my mother with more frequent posts. Any objections? No? Good.

Spain 2.0, let's go. (In four days)