Graduation/Sara and Fiona's visit thus far

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Saturday I graduated from Augsburg with a BA in Music and a BA in German! It is a very big relief and I had a lot of fun. The graduation was at 11 am, and I had several friends there, as well as my mom, sister Sara, and Fiona (Sara's long-time friend, who came with her from England to visit.) Afterwards there were receptions for each department, so I went to the humanities one first, but missed the music one; oh well. I'm glad I was at the humanities department's reception, because I got to sit with my friend Matt, the only other German major graduating this year... so we had a bond. 😊 I got to meet his wife - he just got married about 1 1/2 months ago - and his parents.

Then, our family friends had a party for me at their house by a lake. It was my mom and those friends who planned the entire thing. It was amazing of them to do this for me; so many people who are really important to me showed up, and that meant a lot. There were even relatives who drove from Wisconsin to come to the party - Mark, Laurel, and Sally. I hadn't seen Mark and Sally in four years, and I hadn't seen Laurel in ... probably about eight or nine years. It was so nice to see her; she and I used to have a lot of fun together when we visited Millie's house in River Falls.

And of course it is great having my sister and Fiona here. They got here on Wednesday night. Thursday, the two of them went to the Mall of America while I went to work. Friday, Mom took us to the conservatory and Japanese garden, and then to the Russian art museum. It was nice to do those things on a rainy day. Saturday was the graduation, and then Sunday in the early afternoon, Mom took Sara, Fiona and me to the Minneapolis Institute of Arts for the Art in Bloom exhibit. It was really pretty - the exhibit was floral interpretations placed all over the museum in front of selected works, done by florists, and each floral arrangement was supposed to interpret the piece of art it was in front of. It's hard to explain; let's just say it was cool. I like stuff like that; it's nice when something cool like that is free. Then in the evening, Fiona, Sara and I went with my roommate Malena to our landlord's house for a party. His wife is from India and made Indian food, the way that only a native of India can.

Monday was spent wandering around downtown. Tuesday was Minnehaha Falls and then the Mall of America when it started pouring outside. Yesterday Fiona and Sara went to an aquarium while I was at work, and they went and looked around downtown some more. Today they wanted some more Mall of America time, so we went there for a few hours, and then my friend Sara, who I've been friends with since I was 13, came and met us at the mall, and then we all hung out at my house and watched movies.

Anyway, tis all for now. I will update again in a few days.

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Photos

Sara, Mom, Fiona
In the conservatory

Me, Sara, and Fiona
(conservatory)

Comments

[Marian Scheirman]

Your graduation, party, Sara and Fiona visit
DEAR Alia, it was wonderful to find your detailed graduation blog and the many photos, on my way to bed just now (Thursday)! I'd have loved to be there for the graduation and party, and this makes me feel that I was. Happy to see Sara again, "meet" Fiona, see people I knew in the party pix, and hear about what you three have been doing this week. Thank you for sharing! Love

[Margaret]

Hanging out!
It's great to see that since graduation, you and companions are mastering the art of hanging out! Hang out to your hearts' content!