This year, I’ve gone for something new. I set out to learn Spanish, and—in contrast to the rest of my life up to this point—I’ve actually made some progress. I can tell people I like the cinema, and have one brother, and would like to know how to find the pharmacy. I know the word for beer, and all the numbers up to 1000. Actually, those last two facts might be dangerous in combination.

Of course my real aim is to work into a conversation, “Sólo sé decir esa frase, y esta otra explicandolo” (“I only know that sentence and this other explaining it”).