Please don’t be confused.  In just over 24 hours I will be heading for Heathrow Airport where I will get on a plane that will take me to Amsterdam, where I will get on another plane that will take me to Moscow, where I will get on another plane that will take me to Volgograd.  There I will be met by a woman called Svetlana who will take me to my new home, an apartment in the city centre.

The following day – Thursday 1st September – my contract of employment as a teacher at a private language school will commence.  The contract is for one year.

This is all quite new to me.  I’ve been a lawyer for the last 10 years, being a teacher is a switch in careers quite late in life.  I’ve never lived overseas.  I’ve never lived somewhere I don’t speak the language.  And I’ve never kept a blog.

It will be an adventure.  It will take some getting used to.  And I am sure I will have lots of things to talk about and I know I have lots of people who want me to keep them updated.  I don’t know what’s going to happen – hopefully I’ll have a brilliant time, be an awesome teacher and have lots of fascinating stories to tell.  If so this is where I shall be telling them.  If not, this will be where I will cautiously contemplate what went wrong.

But my journey has yet to begin, now is a time for optimism – I will see you all again on the other side!