Giens Peninsula, Hyères, Côte d’Azur. 21.25.

Another day, another step into autumn. I’ve just finished the washing up and am reading about Enrique’s rebellion on the island of Hispaniola in Simon Park’s Wreckers. The others are downstairs watching a League of Legends championship (apparently that’s a thing). Work seems a long way away.

I wonder what the future holds? Where will I be in a few years’ time? It’ll take me a year or two to find my feet as an English teacher once I get to Santiago, but I have every confidence I’ll get there in the end. Where will I be? Will I have a flat of my own in trendy Providencia or Nuñoa, or will I find myself in some other part of the city? Who will I choose to spend my free time, as I’ll have so much more of it than I have ever known?

What worlds will my new friends introduce me to, when our paths cross? My friendships have taken me to the blossom forests of Prague – where I was told it was a shame they had no daughters left to bring me into the family – and the starlit streets of Athens, where I saw my dear friends tie the knot after a Cadillac ride through the city. One of my wildest relationships sent me across the ocean to the American South. Even this spontaneous adventure to Hyères is the fruit of a friendship. My friendships open up the world to me.

With any luck, She is over there, waiting. It does nobody any good to pin hopes on dreams, but I’m starting to really believe that. Hopefully she’s a Spanish speaker, because while I’m prepared to teach any children I’m lucky enough to have to speak Spanish, I’d rather they learned from somebody who grew up speaking it – not from a professional mimic. I may be 40% Iberian to 26% English, as the DNA test said, but I can’t help the fact I grew up in England. There’s a whole world I still need to learn: language, lifestyle and love. I hope there is space enough in my heart.

We’re running low on some of the smaller groceries. Five men get through a lot more food than I thought. Time for another trip to E. Leclerc, I think. BB x