In which I have a positive frame of mind.

Sometimes, you get stuck in a rut.

Now I know that not everybody sees the world the way I do; but for all my faults I’m trying hard to see it as an opportunity. The world that is, not the rut.

It’s important to get outside of your comfort zone, I’m sure of that. It’s important to have a plan and it’s important to be spontaneous. It’s important to have something to look forward to, just to shake things up a bit, even if at the same time you’re not quite sure about it.

That’s where I stand with my trip to France right now. I am absolutely definite that it’s outside of my comfort zone – I don’t normally live in France, I don’t normally speak French, I don’t normally live alone and I don’t normally teach teenagers about Britain. I have a plan for it, of sorts, which comprises so far of a few lesson ideas if that falls within my remit, and outside of the classroom to travel. If someone offers me something I’ve not done before then I’ll take it, within reason (yes to bungee-jumping, no to eating foxes... or something). On the whole, I’m looking forward to it. That’s fairly new to me.

I’ve grown up over the last two years. I’ve always thought I was fairly adult (with room for manoeuvre, of course, childhood is fun) but whereas when I went to Exeter for my first term I felt dread, I now approach France with well… excitement. 

Why should you dread the chance to develop a skill in another language? I’m bound to make mistakes and not understand but if anyone’s expecting me to be perfect then it’s only going to be me. So if I accept that fact now, it's just win-win?

Why should you dread meeting new people? Forming new relationships and friendships may seem like an arduous task but everybody is constantly in a state of developing them, so it’s just the beginning of that. There are some great people out there. I’ve realised that, clichéd or not, any real friends in the UK will still be there when I get back, as long as both sides make some effort.

Why should you dread the opportunity to travel? I know I’ve mentioned it before but once on the continent it’s far easier to get to places, and appears to be a lot cheaper. With European Christmas markets galore, friends in Russia, Spain, Germany and other parts of France, there are plenty of reasons to be somewhere different. I’m planning a jet-skiing trip already – here’s looking at you, Kate.

Why should you dread being able to put friends up, and to introduce them to somewhere new? I can't wait to be tour guide, I'm telling you now. Especially when I can translate for them; that's definitely something to be proud of.

Of course, if the worst comes to the absolute worst, then the short distance between Normandy and Britain is not a fact that has escaped me, and it will be much appreciated come the times to travel home. And, well, if all else fails, it’s only eight and a half months until I hit the East Coast of the USA…