Back to school (+news)

In early November 2022, I crossed the border into a country I had never visited before, and which was now to become my new home. I can hardly believe that it has been more than two years since I arrived here. It has not been an easy time. On the one hand, it has gone by quite quickly, but I would not say that it has gone by without a trace. It was only in the last couple of months that I was able to settle into a more or less familiar routine that no longer reminded me of endless wandering in a fog.

Since painting on patreon is my main job, I'm not entitled to free language courses, and I can't get into them for a fee because there are no places available. However, I have been taking small language courses for the last half a year and I can say that my Finnish level is now more like A1, which is still progress for me. During these two years I have also managed to understand documents, paying taxes and working with an accountant. This is quite a new experience for me and it cost me a couple of gray hairs...

Not so long ago I also got an extension of my residence permit for 4 years at a time, which has reduced the internal psychological pressure on me a lot. Admittedly, it's quite difficult to plan any future when you don't know if you will stay in your current country in a year. But as soon as I was able to broaden my planning horizon, I immediately felt better.

As I expanded my planning horizon, I thought about my future. And I decided to enroll at XAMK University of Applied Sciences, whose new building will open in our city in August 2024. So, at the end of December, I had an exam, according to the results of which I am now a student, and I will start my studies in mid-January.

I must admit that this event makes me happy and frightened at the same time. I haven't studied full-time for quite a long time and it's been quite a long time since I've interacted with a lot of live people. Besides, the training will be in English, which is not my native language, although I think I understand it quite well. Nevertheless, this all worries me quite a lot. Nevertheless, I expect that the intensive study will help me to plan my work for the month, and the new experiences will make it easier for me to create.

I realize that being a full-time student at a university will take up a lot of my time and a lot of energy (I will continue to take language courses on top of that). However, I will do my best to keep up the usual number of artworks per month!

Nevertheless, I'm excited to pull a dusty school uniform out of the closet and share my selfies in it!
I hope you like it ❤️❤️❤️

PS
You can try to guess who I'm studying for.
Hint: I'll need striped stockings for it 🤣