Graduation Day!

We've been here a week and so far haven't strangled each other yet. In fact, we are having a great time meeting up with friends, going places, EATING, shopping for food, eating lots of potato chips and whatever we can't get at home. We are staying in a nice apartment in Docklands, right behind the Yarra River, about 8 minutes walk to Crown Casino! We walked from the apartment to Crown the other night, then strolled along the South Bank where there are many nice classy cafes and restaurants (such as Nobu), and then on to Federation Square, from 10:30 pm to 1:30 am. It was a lovely warm Friday evening, and people were all dressed up and the atmosphere was festive and lively.

We've rented a car, which makes moving around so easy. Yesterday was Yi's convocation. This time of the year, the convos are for foreign students who have to leave for home, while local students will have their convos in March. We got to U of Melbourne early, 5:30 pm. Many of her friends turned up, which was really nice of them. The ceremony was at 7:30 pm, until 9pm, followed by light refreshments. The graduation ceremony was not as grand as, say UMS' or even the ones I attended in Canada. I thought it was quite boring - the valedictory speech was not impressive too. However, the whole atmosphere was very happy and the weather was perfect. So many parents came from different countries, some wearing their national costumes (I threatened to wear a cheongsum at Yi's final convocation like the other mothers and she was horrified). There was a real sense of achievement, pride and also the feeling that our little girl is now an adult, ready to face the rat race, or so we hope. Yi went for an interview a few days ago (we all waited in the car), and was offered the job yesterday. But looks like she'll stick to the first offer.

I've not been able to access the internet because Yi just moved in and doesn't have internet access. Ah well. Here's some pics.