Flu outbreak in Metz

Weakened by my poor diet and the ever-changing weather conditions, I obviously got affected by the autumn pandemic of influenza. The fever has gone away, but I still feel mildly debilitated. What better time to write a blog post?

My second week of school has been going alright. I'm getting used to the environment, talking to people, meeting my professors. So far I've only encountered some minor problems with French being the language of instruction. In fact, most troubles emerge only after I try to speak English. I made a mistake of using an English phrase while talking to my drawing teacher, who immediately assumed I couldn't speak a word of French. He summoned a poor French girl to come over and translate what he wanted to say. Of course, I could perfectly understand what he meant, yet I found listening to both of them too entertaining to interrupt. Cruel, maybe, but I bet these French people feel the same about my attempts to articulate something using their wicked language.

The English course shall be fun, I presume. During this week's class we got to introduce ourselves to the teacher, who originally comes from Turkey. Some students were shy as they spoke, but there were quite a few who could say more than a brief introduction.

Yesterday's drawing class got me a bit disappointed in some of the students' skills... No, really. Compared to people from my study group in Gdańsk, their technique is at a relatively low level (on average, 'cause I've seen a few good ones too).

What really annoys me about this school is the overloaded timetable. In high school I aqcuired the infamous habit of skipping classes, unless presence is highly demanded. During my second semester of studies in Gdańsk, I didn't go to a single lecture about history of modern art and totally got away with it. Not to mention the fact that I hardly if ever came to school on Fridays. I attended painting classes every two weeks, just to show what I had done at home or to greet my lovely professor. I would spend roughly 10 to 12 hours per week at school and do assignments at home. In Metz all teachers stress that presence during classes is compulsory and has a significant influence on the final grade. As a result, I need to stay at school for no less than 8 up to 10 hours, which is absolute madness. I generally like to work in solitude, when there is no noise, no one to watch me from behind. Hopefully the quality of my work will make up for frequent absence, because I can't afford to spend time in classrooms if I can do the same thing at a prefered environment.

I'm going to take a nap. Tomorrow I definitely have to come to school, so I need to be well rested. Yesterday I must have given the flu to at least five people. The French should really reconsider their habit of greeting people with kisses, especially at this time of the year.