ok, i might be able to help you a little with this, as you are right about it being the opposite of me, i can do the friends thing real well, always fit in with any group. Seems kinda strange that i can do that but not get a gf, but i am wandering from the topic at hand.
First and foremost you only need one or two really good friends, the rest of the people you know can just be a casual friend, somebody to sit and eat with or you talk to when nobody else is around.
i do understand that you seperate online friends from real friends, i do the same thing, i mean you all are great, but you cant just hang out or anything(though the chat might change this)
what about people makes it hard to talk to them? Can you approach them and just not like them or can you just not approach them?
Your interest in learning is not what is going to keep you from making friends, you just need to find friends with similar interests, maybe people in your classes.
If you are like your online personality, then you should have no problem, you are likable. Just start a random conversation with somebody, remember their name and say hi when you see them.
The other way to make connections is to have a common interest, i am interested in, or learned about lots of different things, im somewhat well read(not to your or vaturin's level) i watch lots of TV, movies, music, sports, business, computers...so whoever im with i have some common interest. I can go and talk about nearly any sport except maybe cricket. Then i can see somebody else i know and have a conversation about the newest computer toy.
So in short, you have to go out and meet people, talk to people about whatever, and try and find something in common. Also once you make a friend, make friends with their friends and then you get this chain reaction of people that you know, so then when you are walking around your school you know a lot of the people.
Some of it may be french culture though. I know you want to study marketing and i really think you should consider coming to the US, new york more specifically cause its a great place to learn business and many cultures are here, and study marketing. Dream Big, maybe you should visit here and see how you like it, i can show you around, personally i have never met anybody who did not like being here after they spent some time here.
__________________
|